LoS Birth of a Hero: The Redeemer
by Insane-Randomness
Summary: First part of my Legend series trilogy, Birth of a Hero.  Find me at Insane-Randomness on DeviantART
1. Chapter 1

**Casting his sight on his realm, the Lord witnessed**

**The cascade of evil, the torrents of war.**

**Burning with wrath, **

**He stepped down from the Heavens**

**To judge the unworthy,**

**To redeem the pure.**

**-The Scriptures, Revelation Verses 2:12**

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Black ash flew through the sky as a battle raged over the vast expanse that was the ruins of Warfang. Several dragons were fighting against an innumerable horde of orcs, while a small bright disk sprang into existence behind them. At the frontlines, a purple dragon fought for his life as he slowly moved backwards towards the end of the tunnel he had just created.

"Cynder, get to the portal! I'll hold him till you all get clear, and then I'll be right behind you!" Spyro shouted, throwing himself at one of the massive orcs standing in front of him, club raised high.

"There is no way Spyro, I started this thing with you, and now I'm going to end it with you!" Cynder shouted back, dodging a clawed grublin hand. A bright portal shimmered behind them, as several dragons ran through. A white dragoness with red belly scales and golden wings stopped at the exit, turning back to take a look at the dragon realms, which were burning, and the once great city of Warfang. The planets crust was starting to split in many places, spider web cracks revealing an evil dark purple glow.

"Nova, don't stop! Keep moving!" Spyro shouted, sensing her apprehension of leaving her friends behind.

Nova looked back at the portal, then towards the dragon realms again. She looked at Spyro and Cynder. All of a sudden a wyvern swooped down and caught Cynder from behind, knocking her on the back of the head, and knocking her unconscious.

"Cynder!" Spyro dove over her, protecting her from the enemy onslaught which would surely end her life, "Nova moves your glowing ass!"

Nova looked back at the portal again. The disk of light that led to god knew where wavered and shrunk a little before growing back to original size. And then, with an anguished cry, she dove over Spyro, clearing him completely, landing on his other side, away from the portal.

"Nova, you idiot! What are you doing?!?! He'll be here any second! Move your tail!" Spyro shouted at her, swatting elite away.

"There is no way in Dante's Freezer I am leaving another friend behind!" Nova said calmly. This would be known as her last stand, she was almost sure of it. Ahead of her she could see a dark figure, massive, draconian in stature, rising out of the smoke and ash, "Spyro, forget about me, just go. He's already killed himself, now he just wants you dead. Get Cynder and go, good luck."

"But, Nova, you can't possibly-"

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do, Spyro. Now go."

"I'll keep it open for one minute. You have that long, after that, I'm closing It.", Spyro said, wedging himself under Cynder's body and hoisting her onto his back.

"Understood, captain. May the ancestors watch over you."

"And may they bless you, Nova."

Spyro sprinted the length of the remaining charred ground, and dove head first into the portal, it shimmering as his mass disturbed it. Nova turned back to the dark figure that now loomed over her. Its shadow armor dropped to reveal the purple menace that was Malefor. He grinned at the young dragoness, casting an evil glint through his eyes.

"Noble, young one, and very smart. But you see, that portal is still open for another minute and-", an explosion emitted right in front of him, sending the Dark Master sailing backwards.

"Can it. Not only are you trying to get through this portal, but you killed loved ones. For that you will pay." Nova said, stepping forward. She had never felt more alive. Adrenaline flowed like wild fire through her veins, and her body gave an ethereal pure white glow. Normally her element was blue, but this time was different, she could feel the energy flow through her and around her. She inhaled deeply, and saw the stars brighten through the fog, smoke, and debris. Wait, that's it, the stars.

"So it shall still be a fight to the death, eh? You have no plan of going back through that portal do you?" Malefor asked, rolling to his feet. He had not a scratch on him.

"Actually, I have a better idea than killing you. I might as well stand and fight, because any other option leads to me and my friends' death. I'm not going to kill you. That's for certain, because I don't think I have the power to do so. However, I will make you suffer. And you will suffer forever and always. I will make it back through that portal, and leave you here. I'm sure that the destruction of this planet will not kill you. If it would, then you would not have initiated it."

"And what of the others, eh? Would you just leave them here, to this fate?" Malefor asked grinning, slowly approaching the dragoness.

"They are already lost. No matter how hard I would try, they would still die. And none of them fear death like you do.", Nova said, tensing herself.

_30 seconds_

"Very well then, you will join them.", and at that, Malefor lunged at the female. Nova vaulted into the air, bouncing off the larger and less agile dragons head. Malefor spun in midair, catching Nova on her stomach. She felt the blow, but no pain came. Looking down she saw a large gash just in front of her hind legs. The gash looked small but it belied its deepness. Swinging around in midair, flying backwards she harnessed her element, and felt the starlight above pierce through all the smoke, aiming at the dragon before her.

The stars turned to long streaks, their light streaming down from the heavens. Nova had never used the stars before, as using too much of her power would consume her, and she would be lost. However, with all the adrenaline flowing, she was able to keep control, but just barely. The starlight formed around her body, streaming in long ribbons behind her, caressing her sleek figure. She sent a ribbon on her right sailing at the Dark Master, whom had gone wide eyed at the sight before him. It pierced his left shoulder, sending him grinding backwards a few feet. But that wasn't the only ribbon she used. More and more flew from her body, twisting around each other and through the air. Malefor jumped up over one and had to spin his body vertically to avoid the first two. They were coming at him so fast and so numerous that he couldn't get a shot in.

_15 seconds_

Nova had landed by now, trying to keep her concentration on the ribbons, but still slowly stepping backwards towards the portal behind her, sending more and more light ribbons at the dark dragon.

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"Common guys! I can't hold that portal open forever!" Spyro shouted back over his shoulder, as beams of energy were flying into his body.

_Nova now would be a good time._

"I'm losing it!"

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Nova used her last ten ribbons, sending them soaring at the large purple dragon before her. Making another two steps backwards, she finally delved into her own well of energy. Forming a beam around her tail blade, she yanked it off her tail and hurled it at her enemy with all her might. Malefor looked like a giant pincushion with all the beams sticking out of him. He turned just in time for Nova's final beam to glance right off his face. Had he turned his head a bit more, it would have drilled through his temple. Be that as it may, the blow struck him right across the eyes.

"RRRRAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

"As I said, you will suffer in agony for eternity. Not only have I blinded you, but my light beams are poison to you. You WILL suffer." Nova said, turning and speaking over her shoulder. She took one last look, and turned towards the portal, breaking the light beams in half, but leaving shards imbedded in his body.

"Just because my eyes do not work does not mean I cannot see." Malefor said behind her. Nova snorted and started to walk towards the portal. Suddenly she felt a sharp jolt above her right foreleg. Looking over she saw a shadow spike piercing that area. She looked over her shoulder, and saw the dark dragon standing, staring blindly into space, blood streaming from his eyes. There must have been over ten thousand shadow spikes hanging in midair, poised to strike. Nova didn't think twice, she turned and bolted for the portal. She took to the air, gaining speed with her every flap as she went. The disk of light was slowly starting to shrink.

Another shadow spike flashed past her, missing her by a hairs breadth.

"Stand still you stupid dragon!" Malefor yelled after her, sending a large portion of his arsenal sailing towards the female.

Nova felt one of her feat crack as a particularly large spike hit her ankle. Another spike drove through her wing, breaking the bone clean in half, and sending her crashing to the ground, only feet from the portal. Another one struck her nose, sending a long gash up her snout. Then another pierced her tail completely through. One even ricocheted off a nearby rock, landing a solid blow just above her chest, where her heart was, crushing her collarbone. But none struck a fatal blow.

"Why can I not hit you?!?!" Malefor shouted, as the remaining spikes sailed every which way.

"The darkness does not reach the light. You may be able to see, but you cannot see Me.", Nova said wearily. She could not feel the pain, but she could feel her energy draining away.

_5 seconds_

The portal was only the size of a large ball now, and shrinking still. Nova crawled towards the light, dragging her injured leg along with her. Malefor was blindly approaching her, one very large spike in his claws, trying to end her life. Only a few more inches. Nova stretched her claw as far as she could, and just barely managed to touch the glowing disk, which was now the size of a baseball. She felt a light jerk, as the portal did the rest and dragged her through, closing behind her. She could hear a faint, frustrated roar, and then darkness consumed her.

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"I've lost it. NO! Damnit! I've lost her!" Spyro shouted, pounding the ground. The portal disappeared in a bright flash, leaving nothing but darkness.

The last of the elemental energy that was streaming into his body faded away. He felt a drain as weeks of endless fighting caught up with him. He rubbed his temples, and turned towards the six dragons in front of him, one unconscious. The five dragons in front of him resembled the elements to which they held. Each one held a mournful face. A black female, along with her blue friend standing beside her, had tears streaming down their faces. The red male had a respectful look as he bowed his head. A green male turned away from the sight, trying to hold his anguish in. A yellow dragon held his head in his paws, rubbing his face. Shoulders slumped, head hung low, Spyro spoke again.

"We all knew Nova, one way or another. Some of us knew her very well; others had very little time to get to know her. She was a very strong dragoness. And an excellent flier. The best pilot of us all. She knew the risks when she joined the squadron, like we all did. And her sacrifice has not been in vain, or the millions of others that have died as well. We go on with life, weather we want to or not. Now then, we need to be strong, and survive. Many of us have injuries that need to be healed." Spyro paused, looking around at them. Then turned away staring into the darkness.

"3, 5, could you revive Cynder?" Spyro said, trying to keep the deep amount of anguish out of his voice. He heard a hiss, then a singe, and felt cold then heat at his back, and then heard a large splash behind him. He turned around to see Cynder slowly opening her eyes. Spyro leaned down and nuzzled the black dragoness.

"Get up Cynder, your needed." Cynder opened her eyes, then groaned. She turned her head and looked upwards, scanned the creatures present and then laid back down, a choked sob escaping her.

"We lost Nova right?" she said, with a teary voice.

"I'm sorry Cynder."

"Wasn't your fault. We need to find help though. A few of us can barely walk."

"Agreed. We go about this the right way ladies and gentlemen. All wings report." Spyro said, sitting on his haunches. Cynder rolled to her stomach, and then slowly sat up, throwing her shoulders back, and taking in a large amount of air, sniffling, "Cynder, purple dragon, Wing 2, Reporting."

The Blue dragon sniffled hard, "Frost, Ice Guardian, Wing 3, Reporting", she said in a lower voice, somewhat cold in sound. Blue was her main color, like almost all Ice dragons. She had a row of randomly placed spikes down her back, almost translucent in color. Her stomach scales were much darker, as her body matched an almost sky blue; those scales went so dark that they were almost black. She had a large spike on the tip of her tail, which was about the size of her head, expanding out much larger than her legs, and then coming to a very sharp point. Her head had only two horns coming out of the top, and a small row of horns, just under her eyes, right along her cheek bones, which were very high. Her build was very voluptuous, curving a great amount.

The Green dragon took in a deep breath, then turned back around, "Quake, Earth Guardian, Wing 4, Reporting" ,the dragon said in a smooth almost flowing voice, but deep, almost rumbling Spyro's heart with his baritone. His coloring was different in the fact that he had some tan coloring for his stomach scales, and his wings were even paler than his stomach. He had lumps running down his spine, sandy in color, and almost sponge like in texture, however, they were very hard and rigid, almost as strong as our aerogel we use in advanced manufacturing. His tail had about ten blades on it, all very sharp, and very dense, as well as being the same size. His head was somewhat slim for an earth dragon, coming to a sharp point. He had two horns coming from his head that twisted in a gentle spiral and two more horns lower than those, twisting in a reverse spiral around those. His build matched his head, as he was very skinny for an earth dragon, instead of the usual brunt and bulk earth dragons had.

The Red dragon went to attention next, "Blaze, Fire Guardian, Wing 5, Reporting." the male said, and a voice that had a subtle, almost inaudible crackle to it. He was actually a dark orange really, with a much lighter, golden stomach. In place of horns however, he had long flowing hair, almost moving when he did, so that it looked alive, like his entire spine and tail was burning. A tuft of hair fell over his forehead, and a trio of smooth curving horns jutted out of the top of his head. His tail had a bunch of long curving horns on it, which were more random than anything. His body was more of a muscular build, with bulges rippling in his stomach and shoulders, as well as his back and neck.

The Yellow dragon lowered his paws, "Thunder, Electric Guardian, Wing 6, Reporting." the bright dragon muttered, a slight echo to his voice, sounding slightly mechanical. His coloring was almost neon, it was so bright. The main yellow of his body was a stark contrast to his stomach and wings, which were a glowing purple. He too had hair on his spine, but it wasn't flowing like Blaze's. Instead, at first look, it almost appeared as if it was heat damaged, but on closer inspection, many of the smaller hairs stood on end. He had small horns on his leg joints, which went off in jagged directions, and also had a trio of horns that jutted out and were jagged in shape. His build was somewhat similar to Blazes, but he was less muscled, and more pronounced.

Last of all, the black dragon stepped up, sniffling slightly, "Eclipse, Shadow Guardian, Wing 7, Reporting." she said in a smooth, almost velvety and seductive voice. Her coloration was different than most black dragons, with a standard deep jet black as the dominant color, but her stomach scales were a deep blue. Her wings, instead of being blue as well, were bright silver, matching Cynder's gauntlets and tail ring. She had a set of forward swept spikes running all the way to her tail, where she had an ax head like blade, which sharpened to two deadly points. She had a set of long straight horns coming out of the top of her head. Her body was even more slender than Cynder's, flowing very well, but being very tiny at the same time.

All the dragons showed signs of maturity, including Spyro and Cynder. Spyro had managed to gain a horned goatee beneath his chin, although it was very small, and he was beginning to grow out a second set of spikes growing in beside his main ones. It gave him a somewhat lopsided appearance, but he didn't care. He had also managed to gain an axillary set of horns, just beneath his main ones. Cynder on the other hand had her horns way longer than before, about double there length. She had also gained more of a curvature to her body; though Spyro wasn't sure whether that was muscles or maturity. All the dragons sported battle armor of some type. The sets always matched the dragon, and complemented the colors very well.

The dragons also shared the fact that in some way or another, they had battle wounds, weather internal or external. Spyro knew his shoulder was split, because the pain was starting to come back to him, and his toes had been crushed beneath that shoulder as well. Cynder had some broken ribs and a bruised lung, least from what frost said. Frost herself sported nasty stomach gashes, which bleed freely, but otherwise looked unharmed. But Spyro knew better, she had punctured her spleen. It was nasty, but not immediately life threatening. Quake had a big spike running right through the tip of his tail, wedged between the blades. He also had a slipped disk in one of his hind legs. Blazes normally fine coat of hair had been matted with blood from a spike that had gone through his disk in the back, which was opposite of quakes. He also had a sprained ankle too. Thunder had some very nasty series of cuts above his eyes, and one eye was swollen shut. He also had a broken horn by his leg, and a series of smaller spikes sticking out his side. Eclipse had a broken wing, and one of her muscles had ruptured as well, splitting a foreleg wide open, her injuries were the most grievous.

"OK, first things first, 3, stop the bleeding, numb the pain. 4 assist her. Then we can see where the hell we are." Spyro said. Frost moved towards him, but Spyro raised a paw to stop her, "Eclipse first, she's got hit the hardest. Everyone else after that, then me. I can handle the pain."

Frost shrugged, and began forming a solid ice bandage over Eclipse's burst leg.

"I can't heel everything, there are a bunch of internal injuries, ones that I can't fix, ones that'll have to heel themselves." ,frost said, moving to Eclipse's wing, while quake covered Frost's ice cast with hardened earth.

"Quake, it's a little stiff." Eclipse complained.

"If it doesn't hurt, then it's not tight enough." Quake stated, giving Eclipse a grin.

"That's not what I'm worried about, what if we get attacked. I mean, Malefor is no longer a threat, least from what I can tell. But we have no idea what's in this world. In fact, we don't even know which world we are on. Spyro, what the hell did that portal do?" Eclipse asked, turning to the Legendary dragon.

Spyro rubbed his eyes, "I used my time control."

"Um, what?" Thunder asked, lying down so frost could begin to heal him.

"Every purple dragon has the ability to freeze time, it's referred to as different names, but if the dragon is skilled enough in its use, then he can control it very accurately, even speed it up, or stop it altogether. Some dragons were even known to have turned back time, although that's only from the dragons themselves, as we have no knowledge of the events that happened before they turned time back." ,Cynder explained, "Every purple dragon has it, including me. Except my time control ability was gifted to me when I came into close contact with the dark master, as was my control of my other abilities, as well as my Convexity control."

"So why didn't Spyro use it to turn back time, and defeat the dark master?" Frost inquired. Frost had finished with Thunder, and quake was working on him now.

"What makes you think I didn't?" Spyro replied. Frost paused, thought about it, and then muttered, "Good point."

"Too answer your question, I didn't, I'm not that skilled in time control use. Think about it, most of you had time to work on your abilities, which gives you incredible control over them. However, I didn't even KNOW about my abilities till about ten. And then it was very rough. Ever since I learned to breathe fire it's been constant war. I haven't had time to really work on my abilities, not like you did when you were younger. I can only really use that power in bursts. And that portal I created was made of that power. Don't ask me what it did, because I don't know. Most of my elemental control is made up of pure power anyways, not pure control."

"Besides, even if he could turn back time, it would be pointless, since Malefor can use the power as well." Cynder added, grimacing, as Quake popped her ribs back into place.

"Another good point. Cynder, this is going to be a little awkward." Frost said, as she stretched Cynder's mouth wide and exhaled deeply into the black dragoness, "That should keep the lung from getting infected." frost said, as Cynder coughed on the water crystals that had formed on her throat.

"Right then, we do this the right way. Eclipse, I know you're injured right now, but I need you to scout a 5 mile radius, and any high ground nearby. Thunder, you need to carry her, as she can't fly. If you encounter any intelligent creatures, scout them, but do not make contact under any circumstances." Spyro said, as Frost began work on him.

Eclipse climbed onto Thunder's back, and he took off. The Lightning guardian flapped for a moment to gain altitude under the weight, then dimmed his glow and disappeared into the night. Quake had just finished on Spyro at that point, and frost had begun work on Quake himself, "Hold still Quake. I can't get this spike out."

"Quake, that's fine, when Frost has finished, I need you to find some firewood. Blaze will assist you. Bring it back here, Blaze you start it. Frost, when you have finished healing yourself, we're going to need some water for cooking. Cynder, you need to come with me, you're going to be my eyes. We're going hunting."

Quake and Blaze threw a salute, and then blaze blew a jet of fire from his mouth, lighting Quakes way. Frost listened for a second after they had left, then went towards the river she had heard in the distance, knowing bountiful water would be there. Cynder slipped into the shadows, and Spyro followed her into the darkness, stalking the prey he knew Cynder would find soon.

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Nova knew she was still conscious, but she couldn't see a thing. Had she been blinded too? Or was it really that dark? She dragged herself forward, and felt soft grass on her belly scales. All of a sudden, a flash of light went by.

_Well, that answers that question._

Another flash went past, accompanied by a low hiss.

_I didn't do that..._

"Hello?"

No answer. She crawled forward, and her claws hit smooth rock. Least that's what it felt like. But it was unnaturally smooth.

_A pathway? That means intelligence at least. I just hope they aren't hostile._

She felt her energy leaving her body, and the pain was starting to increase. She needed help and fast. She emitted a faint glow, hoping that someone would see her in the dark.

All of a sudden, a bright flash appeared on her left. She blearily turned her head. She was losing consciousness fast. Just before she lost consciousness, she heard someone say something that sounded akin to "Holy shit" and then felt something pick her up.

_May the ancestors be with us...?_

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Jacob flew around bend after bend, the large V8 in front of him growling in anticipation. His dad was going to kill him.

_Oh well, I'll worry about that later, or maybe he won't notice..._

_Yeah right._

He pushed the gas pedal farther, and felt the deep throated roar increase, and the G forces yank him back as the Mustang lunged forward, eating up the road. He saw something glowing in the distance, but wasn't sure whether it was dirt on the wind shield, or whether it was something up ahead. All of a sudden, the thing took shape, and it was right in the middle of the road.

Jacob slammed the brakes, pushing hard. The tires squealed, trying to get grip as they slid across the pavement. The back end slid left then right, with Jacob struggling with the wheel, trying to keep the sports car under control. The car slid to a stop about 5 inches from the figure that lay prone on the road.

"What the hell? What in god's name is that?"

He knew it was a four legged figure, but it looked sort of crumpled. Curious, Jacob got out, and began to approach the tangled mass. When he was about five feet, he realized what he was looking at.

Now normally, Jacob didn't swear, so when he did, it meant something big. This time, he could not help himself.

"HOLY SHIT!" Jacob said, he almost jumped in the car and took off, but he was a bit apprehensive.

"This can't be happening. It's got to be a dream. Yeah a dream." Jacob said to himself, trying to rationalize.

"God, what do I do?" he looked at the almost dead creature, trying to make up his mind, "Well Jake, you wanted an adventure this summer, what now? Are you just going to drive off and leave it here?"

Jacob turned and looked out into the darkness, "Hello? Anyone out there?"

Getting no answer, he turned back to the creature before him, "OK, well then, here goes nothing." he bent down, and hoisted the body up, cradling it in his arms. With the tail it was far longer than him, but the main mass was about his size. The head and neck lolled over his shoulders.

"Jeez us christ it's heavy." he looked over his shoulder at the back of the creatures head, the pulled the creature over to the car, and opened the trunk.

"This has got to look so suspicious right now, he said, heaving the body inside, "A dragon. Holy shit a dragon. Oh man, what am I going to do?"

Jacob slid into the driver seat and drove off again, leaving the forest swathed in darkness.

"My dad's going to kill me…"


	2. Chapter 2

Spyro crept forwards on his belly, his stomach pressed flat against the grass. The doe he was stalking was blissfully unaware of his presence, slowly munching its way through the succulent blades of grass, slowly approaching Spyro in his hiding spot. All of a sudden, the wind shifted, violently, and unexpectedly, and Spyro knew what was coming. His scent drifted towards the female, and her head jumped up, sensing the smell of adrenaline and sweat, as well as a slight hint of blood.

Spyro was about to pounce when the deer bolted, and Spyro gave chase, panting hard. All of a sudden, a dark shadow jumped up from the grass, the long, sleek body almost merging with the night sky as Cynder grabbed hold of the doe's neck and gave a swift twist. There was a loud sickening snap, and the female went down.

"Awe, Cynder, that one was my kill!" Spyro said, a little ticked that he had exerted all that energy for nothing. Cynder was already dicing up the meat, pleased with her fine use of her wind ability.

"Your name isn't on it, see? Mine is though." Sure enough, there glittering in the moonlight, she had carved her name into the animals bone, leaving a slightly green trail of poison along in its wake. She never looked at him while she was working. Actually, Spyro was kind of used to it by now, even though it bothered him. Still, after almost seven years since she had confessed her love to him. She was still mad at him about that actually, though he didn't know why. Even so, they were still good friends.

"OK, fine, guess that makes us even." Spyro said, smiling half way. It was more of a grimace really. He never did like to be alone with Cynder nowadays. It felt like half the time she wanted to smother him in kisses, and the other half she wanted to slit his throat while he was sleeping. Though tonight seemed a bit different. She was being a bit savage tonight.

"Cynder something's bothering you."

"Nothing is wrong Spyro. It's just the injuries." Cynder said, slicing the hindquarters clean in two.

"Cynder, I've known you for far too long to know when there is a problem. You know it and I know it. So why bother trying to hide it?" Spyro said, grimacing a bit at the dragoness's efficiency and ferocity.

Cynder sighed "Spyro, how long do you think we are going to have to fight for our lives? It's not the fact that I don't want to fight, I do, especially after tonight. Losing Nova was hard for me, you know how close we were to each other. She was like a twin to me. Actually our relationship wasn't much unlike yours and –"

"Cynder, please, I'm having a hard enough time as it is trying not to think about him. It's too painful; I keep seeing his smiling face in my mind." Spyro said. Cynder looked at him, seeing the tears he struggled to hold back. She knew the squadron rules, but she couldn't help herself, she had to comfort him. Cynder leaned in and draped her head over her friends shoulder, crying with him at the loss of their friends, and put her wings around there bodies, drawing the legendary dragon closer. Spyro couldn't bear it anymore, and he let the tears silently flow, mourning the loss of his dragonfly brother, his family, hunter, mole-yair, Kane, the guardians, and last of all, his mentor, and the Chronicler, Ignitus, and all the others he had encountered on his journey. It was tough for them both. Cynder pulled away, and looked her purple friend in the eye for the first time in weeks

"It's going to be ok Spyro. Does it hurt? Yes, it hurts unbelievably. Do we mourn? Yes we mourn." They heard a quiet shriek in the distance, and both their heads snapped towards the noise. Cynder lowered her voice, and spoke with urgency "Spyro, you know our motto. 'Never give up.' There will always be more allies, and more friends by our side. Besides, we haven't lost all our friends yet, and that's not going to change anytime soon. So keep your chin up, we'll make it through. We always have before. Now help me lug this meat back to our campsite." Cynder let her tail drag a small amount under Spyros chin before she bent down and picked up the largest chunk she could carry, and Spyro, with shivers running down his spine from the contact, did the same, grabbing a slightly larger piece.

They disappeared into the shadows, quickly heading towards the small light that had come into existence during their tender moment.

"So really, what's bothering you though?" Spyro asked through the darkness. He could barely see his first officer through the darkness.

"Spyro, it's been six and a half years since you started this squadron, and at first, when you formed it, I was thrilled. We needed replacements for the guardians. However, when you formed it, I was a bit apprehensive, and you seemed to be as well. When Malefor attacked for the second time, I was a bit more preoccupied with the evil around us, than with what you did with the squad, but I couldn't help but notice changes."

"Cynder I-"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP AND LET ME FINISH DAMNIT!" Spyro was a bit surprised at that, and he saw the glistening of Cynders tears through the darkness. He held his tongue though.

"You distanced yourself from me! After all we've been through, you abandoned me! And I had nowhere else to turn! If it hadn't of been for Nova, I think I might have left the squad! But I stayed, and you just went through this war like nothing had changed!"

"No wait a-"

"I'M NOT DONE YET!"

"Cynder list-"

That was as far as he got. Cynder turned and smacked him as hard as she could across the face, sending Spyro and the meat flying. Actually, when Spyro got up, he saw that the meat, the entire torso had been cleaved straight in two, the spine and ribs had clean smoking cuts through them where Cynders poison was burning a trail through the bone.

_Man I got lucky._

"How could you? I sacrificed everything for you! And you turned around and slap me much harder in the face than I could ever slap you! I lov-"

Enough was enough, "CYNDER!" Cynder fell silent, and Spyro was almost sure she was going to slap him again. But she held herself, and turned away, walking towards the light that was Blaze.

"Cynder! Hang on. Do you think, that because I made that rule, that I didn't care about you?"

"Bingo."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

Cynder turned back and went to slap him again, the meat she was carrying sliding off her back. Spyro was able to block her just in time, and a long resounding note rang as the metallic blades struck one another. Cynder spoke as she swung at him again.

"Is it, now?!?! Think about it Spyro. Ever since you made that damned rule, I have done nothing but distance myself from you!"

Spyro was amazed at her tenacity. She forced him back several steps with ten quick movements of her tail, Spyro flipping and ducking and leaping to avoid her swipes. She was finally able to pin him on his back and bring her tail to his throat, and Spyro actually thought for a moment that she was going to kill him. But she stayed her blade, letting it quiver at his throat before moving it down to his heart.

"I never fought at your side the entire war, trying to get my mind off of you! I stayed away from you as much as possible. I talked with Nova the most, and she stopped me several times from committing suicide. And yet, whenever I was in trouble, whenever my life was about to be taken from me, and I was ready to die, to end the pain, you were always right there, protecting me. And every time, I thought, could this be it? Could this be the point where he finally gives in, and returns my love? And every damn time, when the fighting was over, and I was in your arms, you dropped me, and sprinted back into the fight, just giving me one more order."

Spyro suddenly wedged his feet under Cynders stomach, and kicked hard, sending her flying over his head, and he was able to regain his footing. However, Cynder was far quicker than him, and nearly had him, as he took to the air, trying to outdistance her. She was fueled by anger, and he knew it, so when he turned around and saw her flipping through the air, and then fly up between the moon and himself, he knew he was in big trouble.

He got an idea suddenly, though, and charged up an earth bullet, sending it flying into Cynders stomach, sending her flying, and just as the dust was clearing, he burst through to grab her around the neck, and slam her back into the ground. Cynder seemed a bit surprised that he would use actual combat maneuvers against her. Quake and Spyro had developed that sneak attack to use against Elite troops. However, Spyro held her fast, pinning her arms at her sides, and using his feet to pin the base of her tail.

"And how does that make me not care? Cynder look around you! Many of our squad mates would concede that I still have feelings for you. And I'll admit it, I still have feelings for you. But if you seriously think that we would have survived that war while carrying out a relationship, then I do believe you're seriously mistaken."

"And what about before?!?! Before the squadron, hmm? You fell in love with me on that particular adventure, and we beat the Dark Master with just each other! No help from some special squadron."

"We had the guardians help."

"All respect due, they were old, ancient. And we lost Ignitus because of that. Admit it. You're doing this for yourself, because you couldn't bear the thought of losing me!"

Spyro bit his lip.

"I knew it!"

Cynder swiped her tail under Spyros rear legs, and he fell over, giving Cynder the chance to get out from under him. Spyro expected another heavy blow at any second, instead, he felt a big push on his side, and he flipped onto his back, Cynder, jumping on top of him, and holding him down. He was expecting her too bring her tail blade to his throat again, but what she did surprised him far more, although it shouldn't have.

"Cyn-"

The rest of his sentence was forced into a passionate kiss, as Cynders tongue began to dance around in his mouth.

_Hellspawn, that's a first. Not a Complaint, just an observation._

Spyro tried hard to fight it, but eventually, he just went with it. Finally, Cynder broke the contact, and Spyro smiled up at her.

"Very forceful, Cynder." She smiled down at him, and laid her head on his chest, feeling Spyros rapidly beating heart.

_If that doesn't convince him, then I don't know what will._

"All right, I give up, Cynder, you win. I'll think about it, and make arrangements, but if we go to war again, don't expect me too just leave the squadron and run."

"Why not revoke the rule?"

"Because I'm not going to revoke some rule, just for my own personal benefit. I still stand by my decision. The rule stays, but I will actively seek to leave the squadron as soon as possible."

"So who is going to lead?"

"That is a question I don't know the answer too, Cynder."

She was silent for a moment before looking at him from his chest, "This is turning out to be a horrible drama play, like the ones we used to see in Warfang."

"OH GOD! I hated those! I can't believe my life has become one!" Cynder laughed.

"Come on stud, help me with this meat."

* * *

Eclipse was enjoying this moment. She knew she was being a bit shallow, but she was genuinely enjoying herself, being so close to a male dragon. It hadn't been like this in a long time. A REALLY long time.

"You know Thunder; I never realized how warm your body is." She called to the yellow dragon under her, over the whistling of the wind. She was guiding the dragon through the night, as he couldn't see very well in the pitch black area. Eclipse however, being a genuine shadow dragon, could see as if it were day. She could even see the dragon carrying her aloft blush, as his embarrassment grew. He remained silent however, as he almost always did, and Eclipse gave herself the luxury of a low chuckle. Thunder felt it.

"Careful, Eclipse." He said in his reflective voice.

"About what?"

"You know the squadron rules." He said, looking back over his shoulder, and giving her a slight smile. She almost fell off of him at that, but kept her composure. Thunder rarely ever showed any emotion, although she knew he purposely suppressed emotions to keep himself focused in combat. To even get a smile out of him was a rare treat. She wonder what he meant by it.

_Hang on now, Eclipse, girl. You're reading into it way too much._

"Yeah, kind of like how the others follow them. Kind of like Spyro and Cynder." She said, giving him a role of the eyes and scanning the horizon. She had gained plenty of information, but she enjoyed herself up here, and Thunder didn't seem to mind carrying her. They had already glimpsed what they believed to be a small city in the distance, about 50 miles from their current location. However, they were the only ones in sight for about ten miles. She had also gotten good views of some strange, bipedal creatures, and the vehicles they used to get around, even though she didn't know how they worked. One had even caught her eye, a green one, which traveled much faster than the others. It had however, disappeared into the city about 5 minutes ago, and Eclipse could no longer track it amongst the mass of light.

"They keep to themselves, even though I worry about the Captain and 2." Thunder responded, referring to them without their real names, as he almost always did.

"Yeah I know, it's just I know they have feelings for each other. It's just I wouldn't know why Spyro made up that stupid rule. We all want to carry out relationships."

Thunder slowed to a smooth glide, and looked over his shoulder again, and spoke into the wind, "Eclipse, do you know why I suppress my emotions so much?"

_Hang on, he's telling me this? He trusts me that much? Maybe I should read more into this._

"Yes, to keep yourself focused in combat."

"It's the same way with our first rule. 'Each and every Squadron member shall keep focused in combat.' Which means that we need to keep things out of our lives that distract us."

"OK, I know why the rule was created, but it seems to counter act itself. In having that rule, we worry even more about the ones we love, as they don't even know we love them. And therefore, we would counter act orders or righteousness in order to save the ones we love, it would be more of a surprise, when all of a sudden, Cynder gets in trouble, Spyro goes to save her, and the entire rest of the squadron gets whipped out in the meantime."

"You've got the wrong idea, Eclipse. Yes, I'll agree, Spyro does love Cynder, and I know Cynder has feelings for Spyro, but they consider us friends, and I think Spyro cares more about the future of his friends than of one single dragon. If he didn't, then he wouldn't have tried his best to stop the planets destruction."

"That's another thing I don't understand. If he could stop the planets destruction the first time, why didn't he the second time?"

"I do not know the answer to that, Eclipse. We can only trust him, and say that he did his best. Perhaps a purple dragon is incapable of performing a final fury more than once, or there were maybe external factors preventing his final fury."

"Um, Thunder?"

"What is it?"

He looked back in front of him and saw a mass looming ahead.

"Ah HELLSPAWN!"

He banked hard left as a small hill appeared out of the darkness, and eclipse slipped a ways. Eclipse let out a shriek, and clawed to get back up onto thunders back. They were about 2500 feet above the ground when she began to really be in trouble, and thunder dove to lower her weight. Eclipse regained her balance at about 750 feet, and thunder leveled out. After about a minute of hard breathing, she gripped Thunder's sides, and spoke into his ear.

"OK, I've seen enough, get me out of here." They dove towards the ground, slipping into the trees and the shadows.

* * *

Blaze was having a hard time containing his laughter. He had never seen Quake so annoyed before in his life.

"Silly Snow Breather made the casing too tight. Itches like it's got the fire of Boyzitbig in it. Blast her."

"You two make quite a couple." Blaze mused, regaining his composure, and then losing it completely when Quake made a lunge for him, sides shaking heavily. Quake hit blaze directly, but he kept himself from doing anything else, other than forcing the wind out of Blaze.

"Blaze, it's not funny. We lost friends today. The time is now for mourning, not amusement!" Quake said, grabbing hold of the fire guardian's tail, and heaving him backwards. Blaze berated himself. He shouldn't have been so insensitive.

"I'm sorry Quake, I guess, even though it sounds horrible, I really don't feel sorrow. I understand we lost a fine comrade today, but I really didn't know Nova all that well." Blaze said, getting to his feet, and bracing his friend "You didn't have any feelings for her did you?"

"Only for friend. She was very gracious too me, knowing me better than even you, although your starting to approach her level, my friend. You would have liked her. She loved to laughed, and I know she loved your jokes. She was an excellent pilot. Some things I saw her do, I've never seen out of any other dragon, even Spyro or Cynder. She was an excellent warrior, always watching your back, and leaving no one behind. I'm just sorry I left her behind." Quake finished, slumping his head, staring at the ground. Blaze placed a paw on his shoulder.

"There would have been nothing you could have done, Quake. I know just as well as you how tough the dark master is. I just hope she gave him Hellspawn before they went down." Blaze said, staring into his friends emerald eyes. Quake pulled away, walking deeper into the woods, blaze following him, the lit torch he had set up held in his wing claw. Quake stopped, allowing Blaze to draw abreast of him.

"I know everyone was attached to Nova, except you of course. Her loss feels as if it leaves a void in my heart. She wasn't just friend, she was wingman. She had my back, and I, hers. With her passing, it feels as if my back is exposed, and my flanks left open. Blaze, you might have not known Nova, but have you ever had a friend like that?"

Blaze thought for a moment. His brother had left at an early age. He had been lost in Malefor's first onslaught. Even though Blaze hadn't known his brother that well, he had fought alongside his father in the second war, during the first strike. That was how he had come to learn a great deal about his element, and how to control it. He was younger than the others, as well as new to the squadron and the Guardianship, but he was just as skilled as them, and knew what he was doing. His father had been not only a mentor to him, but a traveling buddy.

"I suppose my dad was a lot like that. He had been a general during the ape wars, so he knew what he was doing. He taught me how to use my element, and I improved upon his techniques greatly." Blaze spoke into the night, Quake listening intently.

"Is that how you learned that remote explosive attack?" Quake inquired about his friends devastating charge attack.

"What the Javelin Beam? That was one of the few attacks my dad taught me that I never improved upon. I thought it was brilliant, something that sticks to an enemy, burning his insides, and then detonating after a timed charge. Great against groups and corners, as it'll stick to darn near everything. Out of my entire arsenal, that has got to be my most favorite." Blaze explained, thinking back to his youth. Quake was silent for a while, and Blaze could tell his fellow guardian was thinking hard. All of a sudden, Quake stepped in front of Blaze, blocking his path, and giving him a sharp look, and spoke.

"Blaze, we share common problem. You have no one to watch your back, and I have no one to watch mine. Perhaps, maybe, we could set aside our extreme differences in personalities, and watch the others back?"

Blaze was shocked at this. He knew Quake was a bit straight forward, but this was even a bit extreme for him. But he knew Quake was serious, and that he should be too.

_No jokes this time Blaze. This could affect you in the future, you know that right? Yes, but it could also be very beneficial._

But Blaze knew his path was already set before he agreed. It was not only something he needed, but something his friend needed, and he owed it too Quake. He snaked his tail around so that it was in front of him, and Quake crossed his tail blade with Blaze's, sealing the pact. Quake grinned at his wingman, "Someone needs to keep you from trouble."

"Speak for yourself, trouble, it seems, is all we get."

"Indeed. Blaze, if you do not feel sorrow, then what do you feel?"

Blaze had to think about that for a moment. He could tell no one was blaming him for not feeling sorrow for Nova's passing, but he had to have something else filling the void.

"I suppose I feel bad for everyone else. Seeing my friends in pain is tough for me. But your right, there is another feeling there. Excitement. You've got to realize Quake that two things are going on here. You're older than I am, so when you were born, you didn't have to worry about war. That didn't last for long, because you're just as good as I am in ground combat. However, when I was born, it was only war for me. Not only was my father an old general, but I was born about the time Malefor came to power for the first time. However, even though I do feel pain for the loss of my home, I feel something else; Hope. For the first time in nearly five years, the fight is over, and we can look forward to an age of peace."

"You seem unsure of it."

"Of course I do. Malefor has escaped near death experiences before I'm afraid he might still be alive out there somewhere, biding his time, waiting to strike."

"You think he could survive destruction of planet?"

"Think about it. If he couldn't, do you think he would have initiated it? Split that trunk there, that one is good, you carry one piece I'll carry the other."

Quake split a dead log next to the river, downstream of where frost was. He set his end down on the ground, and lifted the earth just behind it, causing it too roll in the direction he wanted.

"Show off"

"Why should you get all fun?" Quake said, smiling at him, and the fire breather turned and led him back into the forest, retracing there steps.

* * *

Frost exhaled deeply, freezing the flowing river over solid in an instant, up stream, water began to pool, giving her time to sterilize the dirty stream.

"What the hell do these creatures do to their planet?" she asked herself aloud, as a crumpled piece of metal floated by, burn marks and rust clearly visible on the surface. Other pieces of refuse would float by periodically.

_Is this really what our planet is like? What is its future? The inhabitants could destroy it! Somebody should do something about it._

Frost created a filter bowl, through which water could drain, but larger particles could not flow, as well as a larger basin out of the frozen water, draining the river water into the basin. She stood at the bank and saw that there were some sorts of shelters across the river, with warm lights emanating from them. She also saw a bipedal creature walk in front of the light every so often. She also heard laughter up and down the river as some of the creatures enjoyed the warm summer air.

_They have advanced technology, but they seem to be underdeveloped in other areas, they seem almost oblivious to the fact that their homes are constructed on dying ground. They seem almost barbaric._

The basin had filled by now, so she picked it up, and reformed the large bucket so that it could be slung on her back, and began to walk away.

_Someone needs to teach them a lesson._

_

* * *

_

Jacob tried to calm himself, slowing his breathing.

_In through the nose, out through the mouth, in through the nose out through the mouth._

His adrenaline was still flowing, and he was pressing harder on the gas pedal than he should have.

_I have a bloody body in my trunk. It's not even my car!_

All of a sudden, a car behind him lit up, bright red and blue lights flashing, and a siren sounded once.

"Oh shit. Now what." He looked down at the speedometer. 80 in a 50. Crap. Jacob pulled the mustang off to the side of the road, its green paint flashing in the cruisers lights. The cop got out of the car, and walked towards the window, as Jacob rolled it down.

"Evening son. Can I see your license and registration please?" the cop asked, leaving his shades on. Jacob thought the guy was stuck in the past, he looked so ridiculous in the glasses.

"Yes, officer."

Jacob leaned over and pulled the car insurance paper out of the glove box, and yanked his license out of his pocket.

"Son, do you realize how fast you were traveling?" the officer asked looking at the license.

"Not until you pulled me over, no. I'm sorry officer, I've been a little uptight this evening." Jacob said, rubbing his eyes.

"Step out of the car, son." The officer said, stepping away from the door, and Jacob got out.

_Now why would you want me to do that?_

The police officer went back, and sat down in his cruiser, and ran Jacob's license through the system. When he got out, he didn't walk back towards Jacob, he approached the rear door, and opened it. He leaned inside, grab something, and stepped back out , a German Shepard following him, tail wagging.

_You've got to be joking me, a drug run?!?! OH SNAP! WHAT IF THAT DOG KNOWS THAT BLOOD IS BAD?_

"Son, do you mind if I check your car for drugs?" The officer asked.

_I don't really have a choice, do I?!?! What am I supposed to do?_

"No officer."

"Please open all doors trunks and compartments, inside and outside the vehicle please." Jacob turned and approached the trunk.

_Oh man, my dad is going to kill Me._

_

* * *

_

Nova came too in the dark, but she heard humming beneath her. She tried moving, but to no avail. Not only that, but she had issues trying to keep herself awake. All of a sudden the vehicle began to slow, and she saw a bright colored light coming from a crack in the compartment. It kept flashing, and she knew it wasn't hers.

Nova tried lifting her head again, but didn't get more than a few inches before her strength gave out again and her head flopped back down. She heard noises outside, and then a very distinct voice.

"Son, do you realize how fast you were traveling?"

_What? No wait, pull yourself together Nova. Listen, gather information, and then make a decision._

She continued to lay in silence, listening to the conversation outside. Then, silence. She thought they had both left when a smell reached her nostrils. Canine, medium to large size. Why would she smell that?

"Son, do you mind if I check your car for drugs?"

"No officer."

"Please open all doors trunks and compartments, inside and outside the vehicle please."

Nova could hear someone approaching the compartment.

_Either way I'm going to have to hide. OK Nova, time to act._

She gathered her strength, and moved herself, inch by inch, towards the back of the compartment, huddling against the far wall. Just as the compartment was opened, she cloaked herself, and a creature stared in. She was sure he had seen her because his mouth fell open, but she had more pressing matters on her mind.

The first creature moved out of the way, and another one approached, followed by the canine. That was what she was nervous about. She held her cloak and breath, hoping against all hopes that the canine wouldn't find anything fishy. It sniffed once, and upon smelling her blood, which had cloaked along with her, took a deeper whiff of the carpet lining the compartment. It cocked its head to the side, confused, then took an even bigger whiff, closer to her. Nova couldn't hold the cloak for much longer.

Come on, come on.

Finally the dog whined once, beginning to feel nervous, pulled its head out, and hid behind the officer.

"Strange, I've never seen him do that before." The creature said. It poked a hand inside the compartment, and began to probe. Nova would have shuffled around, to keep it from feeling her, but couldn't help it. The officer's hand touched her bloody belly scales, and he withdrew his hand sharply.

"Son, what is this? I don't see anything, yet I feel something. What's going on here?"

Nova could tell the other one was doing some quick thinking. It took him about two seconds, and then he responded.

"OH! I know what that is! I was wondering where that had gone! It's a party prank sir, I must have left it in there after I bought it. Stinking thing is invisible."

The other looked a bit skeptical, "Invisible ink?"

"Yeah! It smells and feels like ink, but it doesn't stain and it washes right out, plus it's invisible. I love pranking my friends with the stuff."

The other one still looked suspicious, but didn't question further, and moved on around the car. The canine looked a bit timid, but continued its job. Finally, the officer was satisfied with his search, even if he still didn't believe the other creature, but he had nothing to go on, so he let the other creature go. He got back in his cruiser and spoke out the window.

"Son, I'll let you go this time, but slow down. I wouldn't want to put a real mark on that record of yours." The officer said, brow furrowed.

"Yes, sir. I'll watch myself." The younger one said, smiling. The officer rolled his window up, and drove away, leaving the younger creature standing in the dark to close everything and drive off, however, he stopped at the trunk.

"I know you're in there."

Nova braced herself and spoke, "Just cause you know I'm here doesn't mean I'm going to show myself."

"Too late, I've already seen you. You're lucky I didn't run you over actually. Besides, you might as well show yourself. I'm covered in your invisible blood, so you owe it to me. Plus, I'm not going to be able to help you when I can't see your wounds."

"I don't need your help."

The creature turned and leaned against the compartment, "Fine then, if you're better off without me, go ahead, I won't stop you. God knows your more trouble tan your worth."

Nova tried to lift herself several times, but never got anywhere. Finally giving up, "Fine, but I'm not riding back here anymore."

"Fair enough, now show yourself."

Nova de-cloaked, letting her strength out into the environment around her. The creature stood there for a moment.

"What?"

"It's just I'm having a hard time believing this is still real. I keep expecting to wake up."

"Well then get a grip, I'm not going to live forever."

The creature reached down, and threw his arms around under her forelegs, giving a heave.

"AAAHH! Careful! Careful."

"Sorry. I'm not exactly good with injuries."

"You'll have to do your best, my squad mates are counting on me."

"There are more of you?!?! How many are there exactly?"

Good question. "I don't really know actually."

"How can you not know?"

"It's a long story."

By now, the creature had moved her to the front of the car, so she could see out the windows. "Try to keep your glowing to a minimum. There tinted windows, but I'd rather not someone see the light."

"Got it. You just move slower I don't want to run into any more trouble."

"Hey, you bet, I'd rather not get caught, that would be the end of me. I can just see the court hearing now 'So why exactly did you have an exotic creature in your vehicle. Or more appropriately, your fathers vehicle, that was mortally wounded? No reason sir, I found it on the side of the road.' Yeah, that'll go over real well."

Nova tried to stay awake for the duration of the ride, but was exhausted already, and could barely keep her eyes open. The creature seemed to notice.

"Sleep, I'll wake you once we get there."

"Thank-you."

"Don't mention it."

Nova smiled as she began to drift. It wasn't really that bad.

_It has a good heart. They seem to be decent creatures. I just hope there all like that._

She glanced over at the creature before giving one final thought and succumbing to the darkness.

_A new friend._


	3. Chapter 3

_Finally, thought I'd never make it home!_

Jacob couldn't help but feel a sense of relief as he drove up into the long driveway of the home where him and his dad lived together. There were no lights on, so Jacob assumed that his dad wasn't home.

_I gotta get her fixed up fast before she really does die. She can't have more than a few hours left._

The mustang screeched to a halt in front of the house, and a servant came out to take the car to the garage. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Jacob get out of the vehicle with the dragon slung over his shoulder.

"Jacob, ho-?" The butler looked dumbfounded as Jacob pulled the dragoness from the passenger seat.

"Is my dad home, Jeeves?"

The man regained his composure, and then answered the teenager back, "No sir, I'm afraid that he came back early this afternoon, and packed quickly. He said he had an extensive business trip to attend to, and said he won't be home for some time."

"Good. Jeeves, do me a favor, and clean that car from front to back, I want it spotless. I'll pay you extra for your troubles. Also do me a favor, and have the nurse head to her office right away, it's urgent, so tell her to get there on the double. Also, tell Cookie that he needs to make a large meal, made with some of his best ingredients, and no garnishes, just tell him to make something warm and filling, with lots of nutrients. After your done with the car, I need a hammock brought upstairs to my room, see if you can clean it first, and warm it up, make it nice and soft. Hop to it man, do it quickly and you'll all go home with a big bonus."

Jeeves seemed a bit put off, as Jacob started to trot towards the house, "Aye, sir."

_Man this is going to be expensive._

_

* * *

_

Spyro's tongue salivated as he took a deep whiff of the fresh deer meat roasting over the open fire. It had been so long since he and the squadron had had a decent meal. Eclipse had come back, saying she had big news, but Spyro wouldn't hear of it till after the meal. He could tell it was bugging her, so finally, after an extended length of silence, he split the night.

"All right eclipse, what's so important?"

Eclipse nearly choked herself; she spoke so fast, "It's the planet, sir. The place is filled with bipedal inhabitants, slightly shorter than cheetahs. They are obviously the dominant species here, but I can't find a single other remnant from our time. They all seem to act oblivious to their surroundings as well. The biggest thing I noticed though was the fact that they're very advanced, they use machines to get around, and they emit nothing more than a peculiar vapor. What's more is the city that's about 10 miles south of where we live. It's an outlying city, I can tell that, but I was able to catch a glimpse of the population beyond. This place is massive, about 10 times the size of Warfang. There must be over 10 million inhabitants living here, in this area, at once. And it is anything but chaotic, and confusing, it's organized, civil and a bit dull really. They've even been able to achieve flight without wings!"

Spyro's eyes grew wide, "No way."

"I'm telling you it's true! But that's not what bothers me the most. What bothers me is the lack of any old species, like cheetahs, apes, moles, manweresmalls, or atlawas. Nothing to speak of. Also, not a single dragon. Nothing to even hint that this is our old planet, brought back to life!"

"OK, so what's your theory eclipse? Where do you think they all are?"

Eclipse went to speak, but abruptly shut her mouth. Spyro cocked his head to the side, but before he could ask what was wrong, eclipse had dematerialized, sinking into the ground. Leaving nothing but silence. Spyro looked around, expecting some monster to loom out of the darkness, but instead heard a small squeak of surprise, followed by a voice with a heavy accent.

"Loit me go! Oi didn' do anythiong!"

"My tail!"

Spyro was on his feet now, wings spread wide, "Eclipse, what or who is it?"

A few seconds pause, and then, "It would seem we have found a friend, sir!"

Spyro heard some struggling, and then Eclipse moved back into the firelight, dragging with her, a small mole. When she dropped it, it fell to the ground, splaying it's arms wide and bowing so low that it pressed it's head into the dirt. Spyro cocked an eyebrow at this move.

"Please lords and ladies! Oi didn' mean any harm toi yeas! I was jus' coimin out of moi burra fer the day to grab some breakfast, and oi overheard ye! Please have mercy!" The mole squawked in fright.

Spyro almost laughed, but he held his tongue, "Please, don't do that friend, stand. You have nothing to fear from us. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Ah, yoir graces are most generous. I am Needlefoot." It stepped into the light, and Spyro was surprised to see spikes lining the creatures back.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir Needlefoot, but, what are you?" The mole looked confused at the question, but proceeded to answer.

"If it does not offend ye graces, but how can you not know? I am a hedgehog, and one of the last toilkin ones at that!" It seemed quite proud of this, but still remained curious. Spyro figured that his question was answered, but with the answer came a thousand more questions. But the Hedgehog continued speaking, "What is thoine gracious lords and ladies names?"

Spyro went first, stepping fully into the firelight, so that the hedgehog could see him fully, "I am Spyro."

The hedgehog seemed almost dumbstruck, "Boi my ancestors! A poiple droigon! That's noit poissible!"

"Why not?" Eclipse asked, watching the creature closely.

"My lady! Before us stands a legendary creature far more poierful than we could poissibly imagine! A purple droigon in toidays soiciety is unhoid of! Shoit, even a normal droigon is roire, and I didn think toit poiple droigons existed! In fact a poiple droigon hasn't been hoid of in over fifty thoisand years!"

Spyro was surprised to hear Cynder break him from his rant, "He's not the only one Needlefoot." And Cynder stepped into the light as well. Needlefoot looked as if he would pass out, he teetered on his feet a bit, and thunder brought his paw up behind the tiny creature too support him.

"Thank you my loid." Thunder nodded, and spoke in a quiet voice, "Slow down, were having a hard time understanding you."

"Apoilogies moi lord. My voicabulary isn't what it used toi be." Needlefoot said, looking back at Spyro and Cynder.

"Needlefoot, I would introduce us properly, but as you might have guessed, we have a bit of a crisis on our hands here. We need shelter and a place to hide, and if you didn't mind-"

"Not oit all your graces. Please follow me, moi burra is small, but you should be able to fit in, though it moit be a little snug."

"Cynder, take rear, Eclipse, you're with me on point."

The queer little creature disappeared into the shadows, and eclipse followed after it, dragging Spyro along, spiraling her tail around the purple dragon's foot, so that he could feel her direction. Cynder followed, backing slowly along, covering the groups trail, and using her wind to create a vacuum from which the fire died out quickly, because of the lack of oxygen.

* * *

It all seemed so surreal to Jacob. It felt like a dream, even though no matter how hard he tried, he was never able to wake up from it.

"Jacob, I can't do this! I could barely do it when you brought that poor dog back last winter!"

"This is different."

"How so?!?! It's even more heavily injured than that dog! Don't tell me you ran over this one too!"

"No! And it's not an it! It's a she!"

"How could you possibly know that? I don't even know!"

"Because SHE spoke to me!"

The doctor opened her mouth to argue, but shut it abruptly. She stared at the dragoness slung over Jacobs shoulder, and Jacob could tell that she was having a furious internal battle. She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. This repeated several more times before Jacob spoke up, "The longer we wait, the closer she is to dying."

That snapped the doctor out of her trance, "Come, we have much to do and little time to do it."

"Thank y-"

"DON'T! Don't do anything! I might change my mind, and I mean it too. This isn't some stupid drama show. This is real life. Even though it seems like a medical drama. It almost could be a medical drama. But it isn't. I could almost tell you right now, that there is nothing I can do, because I almost believe it myself. No one to my knowledge has ever operated on one before, and if they have, then they are dead or keeping a secret. I can think of a few of my colleges that might be like that."

"You'll keep this a secret, right?"

"If it wasn't for the dragon herself, I'd say no, your father needs to be stricter on you, but because of her, you'll get lucky for as long as possible. I'll probably get a knock on my door from two men in black jackets with bulges in their breast pockets were their handguns are before this is done. Don't push me tonight, Jacob, or I might kill her myself!"

Needless to say, that shut Jacob up. She led them to her car, which was a station wagon. Jacob put the dragoness in the back. He noticed that the doctor was traveling exceedingly fast. He was also surprised to see that they went to her house, not the office. But he should have figured, someone might have been at the office.

"Come!"

Jacob heaved himself and the unconscious dragoness out of the car, and staggered up the sidewalk. The nurse led him to her basement, where she had several injured animals in there, as well as a white lab table.

"I know it's dingy, but I assure you, it's sterile. Now set her down, gently."

No sooner had he set the legendary creature down than the doctor began to work. However, she didn't stay working for long.

"I'm going to start at the front, and work my way back. I want you to hand me whatever tools I need. Got it?" She reached for the dragoness's leg.

"No wait, that's-!"

He never finished. The doctor grabbed the leg, and the dragoness woke with a start. Following instinct, she instantly bit down on whatever was causing it pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"

"OH SHIT!"

"Hellspawn!"

* * *

Nova felt as if she were rising out of a deep pool of water. She couldn't hold her breath much longer. Finally, she saw a light, and headed for it, climbing at breakneck speed. Soon, she could make out details of what was on the other side of her window. As she continued to climb, it became harder for her too swim.

Nova was only a few feet from the surface when she came to a stop. Her lungs felt as if they would burst.

_NO! I didn't come this far!_

She gave a monumental heave and launched herself from the substance, breaking the surface, her momentum carrying her torso upwards. She was aware of two things immediately. Her right leg was in monumental pain, and two she was incredibly tired.

She focused on the pain first, biting down on the source of where it was coming from. Most of her bite went into her leg, but she could feel whatever had caused the pain to begin with let go. Finally, as she released, her vision and focus cleared, and she was aware of two more things. One, someone was screaming, and two, she probably caused the pain.

"OH SHIT!"

"Hellspawn!"

She could finally see who she had bitten down on. One of the creatures was wrestling against the creature that had saved her earlier. It was shorter, and considerably more wild looking. And it was probably angry. Yes, VERY angry.

"Venice! Calm yourself! It didn't mean it, if you had slowed down, then you would have heard me try to stop you. NO! It's not her fault!"

After a moment the creature settled down, "Oi Vey, that's going to leave a mark. I need a cigarette."

"Get that bandage on first, then take a smoke."

The creature walked out of the room. Nova's consciousness was increasing by the second, and the pain in her body was increasing all around her. But she had more important things on her mind.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"Heh, don't tell me that. But yes, I know you didn't. A dog would have done the same thing."

"Are you saying tha-"

"Not at all. I know better than that."

Nova settled at the reference of her reaction being similar to a beast. But she still had other questions. The silence stood for what seemed to Nova like an eternity. Finally…

"Hang on, I just thought. Crap, where are my manners? They musta gone south for the winter. My name is Jacob," he gave a sidelong glance, "but you can call me Ezio, since that's what my best friends call me. Come to think of it, I don't know your name."

"Nova, and from where I come, I'm also called the Solar Guardian."

"Where do you come from?"

"A long way from here my friend."

"So you're an alien?"

"Almost."

Nova still had other questions, and she figured now would be as good a time as any to ask them, "Ezio, what do you call your race?"

Ezio (I'll refer to him by that name from now on, as you'll here less and less of Jacob) chuckled a bit before answering, "We are called humans. The males have flat chests, and are a bit taller than the females."

"And in what numbers are you?"

"The planets population is estimated to be over seven point five billion humans, including third world countries. I couldn't tell you the exact number, because we really don't know. Now I already know what you are, we have legends about your kind, I just didn't think they had a basis in fact. I'll save my questions for you though until you get back to my house, since we have more important tasks at hand." He finished just as the doctor came down the stairs, she turned to Ezio, and said quietly, "Triple the fee, and I'll continue."

"Whatever it takes. I'd sacrifice every penny our family owns to save her."

The doctor turned sharply, and approached Nova with apprehension.

"Medic, I will not hurt you anymore, but it would help if I had something to bite beside a human hand." The doctor turned a little pale at being spoken too directly, but ran and grabbed a wooden rolling pin, handing it too the dragoness who stuck it in her mouth.

"OK, I'm going to put you under now."

"No, I would rather stay awake."

"No offence, but I don't think even you could handle this."

"Numb it, but do not put me under, I would at least like to know whether I'm going to die or not."

The doctor took a deep breath, and numbed the creature from head to tail, and then began her work. Even with the numbing agent, Nova could easily feel the pain that was being inflicted, and was glad she asked for something to bite. The doctor gave a running commentary to Ezio, but it was mostly for Nova's benefit.

"The leg and shoulders will be the easiest part for me, as they are the closest to a canine or feline. It's incredible, your structure. It's as if nature found a way to replicate titanium, carbon fiber, and Kevlar, and shoved the stuff into your body. Whatever crushed your foot had some serious power behind it. Actually, I'm having a hard time with replicating it, because the stuff I have is made from adaptable bone, which means it'll replicate the hosts DNA at some point, thus mimicking the hosts bone type, it's still having an issue. You should be fine though, as the only thing that needs replacing is your leg, which is the smallest part."

After she had implanted the adaptable bone, which took an hour by itself, and much struggling and blood to get it into place, she continued to the shoulder above the leg. However, when she reached the shadow spike, she reached an impasse.

"Jacob, help me out, I can't get this out, and it keeps cutting through the gloves."

"Here let me."

He grabbed a large pair of pliers from the nurse's tools, and grabbed the spike, whispering into Nova's ear, "This is going to hurt quite a bit. Just listen to the sound of my voice, and don't go under." Nova shook her head once, to show that she understood. Ezio braced himself, and then twisted the spike once, causing Nova to give a muffled scream, and then gathered his strength, and gave one monumental heavy, yank, pulling the spike clean out, and spraying himself and the doctor with blood. Even more blood continued to gush from the huge wound, pooling quickly on the floor. The doctor reacted fast, and Ezio dropped thes pike on the floor, careful to keep it out of the way, and rushed to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.

"It's way too big! I gotta work on things in there, but I can't do anything when blood is spraying all over the place." Blood was still coming through, soaking their hands a deep crimson. Nova was having a hard time keeping herself conscious, "She's lost at least a full three gallons already, she can't afford to lose much more!"

"What kind does she need?"

"I don't know, her blood is a different type than normal! We couldn't find it unless we knew exactly where to get it."

"Couldn't we try to replicate it?"

"With what?"

"How about some of that leftover electrolyzed plasma, that stuff seems to work wonders, if we could combine that with some of the spare human blood we have here, we could have enough adaptive chemical blood to fill her body three times over. It doesn't have to work permanently, just long enough for her body to make more."

"It's worth a shot."

She grabbed some of the purple liquid that was hanging in a corner, and shoved it into the IV that she had hooked up to Nova before she started. After that, she grabbed a small tube with an angled end, very sharp.

"It's gotta be a ruptured blood vessel that's spraying all that, I need to bridge it. Hold the wound open, and I'll get it in."

Nova had gotten a second wind from the plasma, but was still having an issue. Ezio bent down, and with a big effort, opened the wound wide, allowing the doctor to stop the blood from spraying. Ezio had a hard time even seeing, he just kept his pressure on Nova's skin, keeping the wound open. He would have barfed directly into the wound had it not been for the fact that a life was depending on him, at last the doctor got one end of the tube in, and yelled through the torrent of blood and water. He didn't hear exactly what she said, but he got the message, and got out of there, found the nearest trashcan, and vomited all of the food he had eaten that day, the doctor threw him a towel, and Ezio was able to get a grip. It wasn't bleeding nearly as bad now, but the dragoness was still losing blood. After stitching the wound close, the doctor moved onto Nova's broken collar bone, "I won't be able to knit the muscles back together dear, your body will have to do that on their own. The collar bone shouldn't be tough, as it has the same basic structure as a canine, so I should just be able to use my brace to get it into place."

However, when the doctor snapped the brace in place, Nova felt a large snap near the base of her neck, at the rear, right where her spine should have been, and she instantly blacked out, seeing nothing but the pure white of the surgical lamp, as unconsciousness took her at last...

* * *

Spyro wasn't sure where he was anymore. Eclipse had been leading them after the mole for what seemed like an eternity. They had crossed two roads, with speeding vehicles that traveled in both directions. Finally, when Spyro had begun to wonder if the hedgehog had gotten lost himself, he whispered through the darkness, "Here we are. You dragons will need to flatten yourselves to get in, but there should be a decent amount of space inside."

"Eclipse, take first guard watch, Frost will relieve you in 4 hours."

Eclipse stepped to the side of the entrance, laying down and submerging herself in darkness, and the rest of the dragons all crawled in one by one. The hedgehog hadn't lied; his house was huge for a creature so small. Quake seemed to notice the same thing, "Why such big home for such small creature?"

"I do like moi spoice." The hedgehog replied, letting the dragons settle in. When Spyro could tell they were all comfortable, and the hedgehog had gathered some phosphorus rocks, so they could see, he spoke to their new friend again, "Now then Needlefoot, we have many questions for you, and we need them answered."

"Well then, ask awoi my froind, ask awoi…"


	4. Chapter 4

"Just what the hell is going on here?" Spyro asked, directing his attention at the hedgehog in front of him, "No no, let me rephrase that. Needlefoot, what is your history, start from fifty thousand years ago."

"Moi lord, where do I start? I suppose, I should go with my ancestois, since they would have been the original coinstructers of Warfang, the great dragon city." Needlefoot replied, settling down in front of Spyro.

"What happened to Warfang Needlefoot? We haven't seen anything except this city. Where exactly is Warfang right now?" Cynder asked from Spyro's right.

"Oi don't really know moi lady. None of us do. We are ancestors from the original inhabitoints of this planet. However, when the humans coim along, we were treated ois mere beasts, though I suspect it would be different if we revealed oirselves today."

"Humans?" Blaze asked from the corner.

"Yes, thoi are the creatures you encountered earlier. That's what they call themselves. Nearly twenty thoisand years ago, they started to dominate, and have developed and grown stronger ever since. Thoir are nearly eight billion living today." Needlefoot answered.

_Eight billion? That's astronomical, even the entire dragon realms themselves would have amounted to maybe five hundred million._

"What was the last purple dragon's name, Needlefoot? It's important that we know."

"Oi wish oi could tell you, but I do not know moiself. The purple dragon is said to possess an extreme amoint of power however, and for there toi even be one of them is supposed to be impossible." Needlefoot replied.

"OK, so tell us why you were so fearful of us when you first saw us."

"Beg'n yoir pardon graces, but in moi time, dragons aren't exactly the friendliest of creatures. Not that I can't blame them, seeing as how much they've gone through. We've all lead tough loives."

"What do you mean Needlefoot?" Frost asked. Needlefoot seemed to shiver visibly, but he kept going.

"Humans aren't exactly receptive. Its noit there fault, it's in thoir nature to destroy everything they can. The land they live on, the air they breathe too and the creatures they come in contact with. Before they came, from the best I can tell the planet throived with creatures such as me. But now, what the humans describe as animals, woir once intelligent bein's. Yoi'll find that very few of us actually remain." Needlefoot said, hanging his head sadly.

"But why?" Eclipse called from outside, startling everyone.

"The humans were friendly at foist, and we had a powerful alliance. Hoiever, humans expand at an exponential rate, doublin' their population every foive years until they consume every last resource, and then they move on. By the toime we realized this; thoi had launched a crusade against us, oit of necessity moir than anythoing. After thirty thousand years of bein' in peace, oir military wasn' exactly top notch, and we had no woi to defend oirselves. After a while, many of us went insoine from the carnage and the lois. And we began to act like dumb animals. Others took advantage of the foict, and acted like dumb animals themsoilves. Some of the allies acted like animoils so long that they believed themselves dumb creatures, worth nothing more to a human than food. Only those of us with strong woills could resist going insane oirselves."

"But what about the other dragons?" Spyro asked, looking anxious.

"Thoi went into hidin', obviously. Dragons were one of the few who did not go insane at all. They fought back, and killed many who opposed them, but they were far outnumbered. Back then, a single dragon could easily take on one thousand enemies and survoive, but any more, it might be ten toi one. They oir so poiwerful anymore."

Spyro turned to the rest of the squadron, and addressed them directly, "New orders squad. Actually, this should be more along the lines of a fundamental rule. You are not to make contact with any of these creatures until further notice. If we are too survive, then we must find the other dragons and rally them together."

"NO! Soir, you cannot possibly hope to beat the humans in out and out warfare, can you?"

"How can I not? They're destroying my home!"

"But soir, even with all your incredible power, you couldn't hope to even stand a chance of defeating them. There is no poissible way." Needlefoot said, standing in front of the purple dragon.

"There is always a way, Needlefoot. Always" Spyro said, and he began to approach the entry way, but before he could even get two steps, the hedgehog threw himself in front of the dragon, pushing against the legendary creature's chest.

"No soir! Oi can't let you! You will destroy yoirself!"

Spyro was surprised, but before he could react, Cynder stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, "Will you excuse us Needlefoot? I want to talk to Spyro alone."

The rest of the squadron seemed a bit surprised, even Thunders eyebrows jumped up, hiding behind his frizzy hair. Spyro was a bit apprehensive, he still had marks from the last time Cynder attacked him, but he followed her out anyways.

"Eclipse, head inside, get some rest, I'll take watch for a bit."

"Aye, sir."

Spyro turned to Cynder, "All right, what is it?"

* * *

The first thing Nova was aware of was the warmth. It spread across her body like a soothing blanket. The second thing she noticed was the fact that someone was rubbing her brow with a damp cloth. And when she opened her eyes, nausea threatened to overtake her. An involuntary groan left her body, even though she tried suppressing it.

"Crap, she's awake! Jeeves! Jeeves? Jeeves!"

Nova let her vision come slowly back into focus, giving her a clear view of the room. The main part she could see was a roaring fire in the fireplace, and her bed was sitting about six feet from the hearth, which was the source of the warmth. Suddenly, she heard a creak of a door behind her, and she struggled to get up, but found herself being wrestled back down.

"Oh no you don't, you need rest."

Nova couldn't see everything crystal clear, so she just smiled. Suddenly, she felt a wetness on her lips, and a voice in her ears, "Drink as much as you want."

Nova didn't need telling twice, she delved her head in and drank as if her life depended on it, which it kind of did. She thought she must have drunk about 5 gallons when she stopped.

"Heh thought you might drown yourself. Next is food."

"Ezio?"

"Who else, now eat."

She could see a bit better now, and Ezio came into view, setting a massive plater in front of her filled with meats vegetables and fruits.

"Take your pick it doesn't matter, and eat as much as you want. You gave us quite a scare. When the shock to your spine knocked you out, the doc thought you might not wake up."

Nova heard but she continued to eat anyways, taking in the nuritments as fast as she could without choking.

"Slow down, you're going to kill yourself."

Nova smiled and swallowed her bite, "I'd say Om Nom, but I don't think that would be appropriate."

The human's reaction was unexpected, he hit the ground laughing.

"OH MY GOD! HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT MEME?"

Nova shrugged, "I figured you'd be scared, not hysterical, you seem like you've lost your marbles. I know because I can read the light waves that are flying around. Om Nom seems quite prevalent. I got curious and found out what it meant. It just means to chow down quickly, right?"

"Most of the time, yes. So you can actually see the internet?"

"I've learned to tune it's bandwidth out."

"Oooooookaaaaa, I'll just pretend like I know what your talking about."

Nova continued chowing down on the food, slowly working from one side of the platter to the other. When she finally finished, she heaved herself to her feet, with a great amount of effort, and walked towards the nearest window, "Thank you for your hospitality, Ezio, but I need to go."

She turned to take off, but she felt a yank on her tail, and turned to see Ezio pulling her back towards the bed, "OH no you don't. You are in no condition to travel. Your staying right here and resting."

"Too hell with that, I'm leaving! Who are you to think you can stop me? My squad mates think I am dead."

"You're not leaving until you can fly without falling out of the sky, and that's final, even if I have to chain you to a wall, your not leaving these grounds."

"Then just how do you suggest I tell my friends I'm ok?"

That stopped Ezio. But he had a few ideas, there was just one thing, "Where are your friends?"

Nova opened her mouth, but her jaw just hung there in midair, "Good point. I really don't know."

"Then we need to figure out something that's noticeable by your friends, but not by anyone else, any ideas?"

"Actually, I do have one."

* * *

"Do I have to smack you again?"

"Um, what?"

"Spyro you idiot, we have got more important things to do than start a war with an enemy we know nothing about. Hellspawn, we know nothing about our allies." Cynder said, keeping her voice down, and staring at Spyro's silhouette through the dark.

"OK, so what do you suggest?"

"I don't think these humans are as bad as he makes them out to be. After twenty thousand years, things can change, and people grow ignorant. This creature was probably born and raised to hate the humans, he doesn't know any better. We should try to make contact with one."

"And how are we supposed to do that? It sounds like this hedgehog has got legends; the humans must have them too. And how do you think we are going to be portrayed? As malevolent beasts." Spyro argued.

"Every legend has a basis in fact, Spyro. Perhaps the dragons of this world were malevolent beasts. Besides, legends are forgotten or changed. And many creatures don't even believe them." Cynder countered.

"OK fine then, so how do you suggest we go about finding one then, Cynder? What, we just waltz up to the largest building in the nearby city and say, here we are, we need to talk? What do you think they'll do to us?"

"I don't know Spyro, and that's not what I'm saying we should say. What I think we should do is find a more permanent place to stay while we actively seek out a human that can help us. We also need to find an ally, a dragon. And I mean we, as in you and me. A simple dragon will not do, even if a normal dragon couldn't stand up to a guardian, they'd never believe a guardian. It needs to be a purple dragon thats the ambassador."

"OK, what else? We can't just sit around and let the humans destroy everything."

"Spyro, I agree with Needlefoot, they do have a tendency to destroy everything around them. But you've seen the determination they have to survive, as well as the power they have. With our help, we might be able to reverse everything, and maybe one day, they two races can exist in peace."

"Do you really believe that, Cynder?"

Cynder approached him and nuzzled him under the chin, "Spyro, when you first found out about me, I was a monster. Cynder, terror of the skies. But you never stopped believing in me."

She turned towards the bright lights that were visible to them down in the valley below, "And I'm not going to stop believing in them."

"She's not the only one either, Spyro."

They turned to see frost coming up the hill towards them, "They are a very destructive race, but it's on a subconscious level. If they could be taught, then perhaps they might have a successful future."

Both Frost and Cynder turned to look at Spyro, "It would seem I am outnumbered here."

"Spyro, honey, you were outnumbered before Nova died." Cynder commented, leaning against him.

"Well if that's your choice, Spyro." Quake commented, coming up on Cynder's right, with Blaze next to him, Blaze spoke up, "Then we are with you to the end."

"You know Spyro, that we aren't friends because we are guardians and legendary dragons, were guardians and legendary dragons because were friends." Eclipse said, appearing out of the shadows next to frost, with thunder coming up behind Spyro, who added, with chest puffed out to show his pride, "We are friends to the end, no matter what happens, we are always there."

"Thank you then, friends. We set out tomorrow night then, get some rest, you'll need it. Needlefoot, we'll sleep out here. I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Yoir not soir. Yoir welcome to moi home any toime."

"Even so."

"Very well, yoir choice."

Spyro turned back to the glistening landscape before him. The rest were finding soft spots in the grass to lay down and sleep. Eclipse was about to turn away too, when something caught her eye.

"Spyro, take a look over there."

It was a slowly pulsing strobe light. Exceedingly bright as well. But the strangest thing was that it was moving in a circular motion. Spyro was entranced.

"Eclipse, do human vehicles move like that?"

"No sir, not to my knowledge."

"Then what-"

Cynder had appeared by his side again, and took a glance down at the light. And Spyro saw her eyes grow wide.

"Impossible."

"Cynder what is it?"

Cynder turned and looked at Eclipse, whos eyes grew wide at the realization, and then she turned to Spyro with the biggest grin on her face Spyro had seen in the last five years, "Isn't it obvious? It's not a what, but a whom."

Spyro still didn't understand.

"Oh come on Spyro, even more importantly it's not a whom, but a how as well. How did she do it, how did she make it?"

"She-"

Then Cynders grin grew wider as she saw realization dawn on Spyro's face.

"No way!"

Cynder nodded, "Who else could it be?"

Spyro turned back to the group, "Quake, Frost, with me, Cynder you come too, she was your counselor before planet destruction. Move fast, she might be seriously injured."

Frost was up, but she was confused, "Who's injured Spyro? What's going on?"

Spyro turned back to quake and frost, who were now sprinting up the hill, with a grin pasted on his face similar to Cynder's, "Nova is alive."

* * *

"OOOOOFFF, slow down you madman."

"Not a chance in hell."

The golf carts engine whirred as Ezio gunned the electric motor, pulling the glowing dragoness around the golfing greens as fast as he could, "Glow brighter, maybe they'll come faster."

"Bite me, lead foot."

"You're a dragon, you do the biting, I'll do the driving."

"You'll also do the crashing."

"Says the FLYING dragon."

"Shut up."

"What getting tired of me, glow butt?"

"Seriously, I think I heard something."

No sooner had the words left Nova's mouth than they both heard a large "whoosh" and four bodies appeared out of the night. A purple streak tackled Ezio to the ground, knocking him clean out of the driver's seat and sliding him across the grass. One dark purple bolt landed in front of the cart, grinding it to a halt, while two more grabbed Nova from the back of the vehicle.

"OW! What the hell!"

"Hellspawn, no stop!"

"We've got her, take care of him and let's get out of here!"

All of a sudden, Ezio found himself staring up into a purple face with golden horns.

"Prepare to die, human."


	5. Chapter 5

"Spyro! Stop, he's a friend! Ezio! NO!"

Ezio saw the claw go up, and time slowed around him as it came down towards his throat, enough to rend his head from his torso. But he wasn't going to go without a fight. He brought his knee up hard, sending the purple dragons breath rushing out of him, and giving him just enough time to knock Spyro in the face, sending the creature reeling backwards. It still wasn't enough to stop the blow from coming, but it wasn't fatal, slicing a sizable chunk out of Ezio's neck, but not getting anywhere close to his esophagus.

Spyro rolled to his feet and lunged again, and Ezio, barely having enough time, yanked the blade that he always carried from his pocket, holding it in combat position, edge glinting in the moonlight with bloody anticipation. Ezio wasn't doing it on his own anymore, it was all instinct. As Spyro flew at him, he moved his head ever so slightly, and let the dragon fly by him, bringing the blade up to the dragon's underside. The blade hit by a hairs breadth, drawing blood as well. Spyro felt it in the slightest, and hesitated after his landing. Ezio knew what he was thinking.

"Most likely you've been told that humans are week, eh? There are always exceptions to a rule." Ezio said smiling. All of a sudden, a white streak caught his attention to the left, and he spun on his heels, to meet the oncoming enemy. A huge force barreled into his stomach, knocking him clean off his feet. When he finally stopped rolling, Nova lay on top of him, pinning his arms to his side, and using her hind legs to keep him locked to the ground. He saw a black dragon also had his enemy pinned likewise. The dragon that had Spyro pinned spoke. It's voice sounded female.

"Spyro, you idiot! You always leap before you look! He's a friend, if you had used any sense then you could have seen that!" Nova turned to him, getting angry as well, "And what were you doing? I told you friends were coming! Why did you fight back?!?"

"He attacked me first! I had to defend myself!"

"Defending yourself against an enemy, and slicing said enemies belly open are two totally different things!"

"Fine, I'll behave myself, will you let me up now? And where's my knife?"

A tan dragon walked up a hill beside them, holding the small machete in its claws, it looked down quizzically at the blade, "This for self-defense? Believing is hard to do with that logic."

"When you're rich you tend to travel well-armed. Otherwise you're an easy target."

Nova got off him, and Ezio grabbed the knife quickly, getting a few raised brows, "I hate being without it, it makes me feel exposed."

"That's because you are. I apologize for my rashness human. We've learned that hesitating can cost you. I just went a bit too far." The dragon said, getting up, "As I'm sure Nova has told you, we are her squadron."

Nova stood up, standing at attention, and throwing a salute with her wing, "Nova, Solar Guardian, Wing 8, reporting belatedly sir." Spyro threw the salute back at her.

"You need to be debriefed, but we have more important things first." He turned to Ezio, "I'm going to guess that you assisted Nova in a decent recovery, as she seems able to stand by herself."

"It is painful sir, but yes, I push through it."

"You can't go for even a mile before you collapse, so we need to base close to here." Ezio stepped forward.

"I can help with that."

"You would seriously take 8 creatures that have only existed in legend into your home, and then provide us with hospitality for who knows how long, and do so without complaint, but consent? We just tried to kill you!"

"It's not really a matter of choice, and besides, I'm curious about you guys, and I think I can help in some ways. Kind of like that armor. Nice, but it's in disrepair, all of yours. My dad has a metal shop for producing different parts for his cars, so it won't be a problem, especially since I know how to operate it. As for doing it with consent, I don't think that any creature as intelligent as me should be refused shelter, so long as they are willing to work while under my roof, even though it's not mine."

"Well if it's not yours, then whose is it?" Frost asked sharply.

"My dads."

"Where is he? I would like to ask him." Spyro commented. He looked Ezio over quickly, as if judging an opponent. Ezio wasn't exactly strong, but he could hold his own against well muscled opponents, as his gently curving arms and legs suggested. Nothing about him seemed to suggest that he was rich, as his tan cargo pants were weathered from use, even though they looked sturdy enough to hold up against a decent amount of damage. His shirt was rather baggy and plain, but Spyro knew it wasn't because of a lack of clothes, more likely for freedom of movement. His hair gently spiked from his brow, with a subtle goatee where his chin curved under. His jaw looked rather strong, as it was very pronounced. The shoes were large, and upon further inspection, had subtle spikes on the bottom, as if they had been cleats once upon a time. The strangest thing about him was the knee pads and elbow pads he had on, as if he expected injury at any moment.

"He's gone." Ezio said shortly, rubbing his neck where it was still bleeding, shoving his knife into a sheath under his pants leg. The blade took up most of the upper part of his calf, as it was quite large for being for self defense.

"I'm sorry." Spyro said, bowing his head. Nova smiled at the comment, and cuffed Spyro over the top of his head.

"Not that kind of gone Spyro, he's away. Even though from what Ezio has told me, he might as well be dead. He never comes home half the time." Nova said. Spyro looked at her sourly, and then smiled. Normally, he would have pulled rank, since that would have been striking a superior officer, but he thought of several things that stopped him. Cynder couldn't take it anymore, and she pounced on Nova, hugging her tightly.

"Your alive! We thought you had died with the planet, but your alive!" Cynder said. Nova was gasping for breath.

"Cynder! I can't breathe! Let me go!" Cynder loosened her grip, but didn't let go. Nova waited a couple seconds, then cleared her throat, "Cynder, I'm glad to see you too, but do you mind?"

Cynder blushed as she let go, "I didn't think I would get to see my best friend again!" Spyro chuckled at her embarrassment.

"All right then, Ezio, we'll bunk at your place, and we will try and stay as short as possible. You also said you could repair our armor?" Spyro asked.

"That, among other things."

"Other things?" Cynder inquired.

"I'll talk to you later about it."

Spyro sent Quake and Frost back to the rest of the squadron, telling them to follow Nova's signal, and then helped Cynder carry Nova back to Ezio's house. Spyro talked to him the entire way, describing the series of events that led them too what had happened today.

"So let me get this straight. You guys think you come from 50 thousand years in earths past. There is one, big, badass dragon after all of you, especially Spyro, and - Cynder - right?" Cynder nodded at his question about her name, "Cynder, because they foiled his plans. However, he's come back, seemingly from the dead, and he's gotten stronger in the meantime. Said baddie destroyed our planet 50 thousand years ago, and since then it has reformed. As far as you know, all were killed, including said baddie. However, you wouldn't be surprised if he is still alive, so you need to find a more permanent location to find out whether he does still exist, and if he is dead, then you have plans of revealing the dragons to the planet, and so live in harmony with us, and reinstate the magical races' dominance on planet's surface. Did I miss anything?"

"No you got it all."

"I still spot problems, but you really don't have anything else to do unless you want to go into hiding. Which I seriously doubt is your plan. How on earth though do you expect to reveal the dragon race without causing mass panic, or even worse, military and government action?"

"How else, we become heroes."

"By doing what?!?!"

"Saving a human, almost like a superhero. I can't really think of any better alternative. But still, our first priority is finding out whether the Dark Master is alive."

"That's the first big thing I can help with. I have access to some powerful equipment."

"Like what?"

"You'll see."

Cynder helped Nova inside, while Ezio and Spyro waited outside on the balcony to Ezio's room for the rest of the squadron to reach them. After a while, they heard the whistling of wings slicing through the shadows, and five dragons fell out of the darkness, a black dragon lying across a yellow dragon's back. Spyro stepped forward, and began introductions.

"Ezio, you've already met Quake, Earth Guardian, and Frost, the Ice Guardian. The ones you haven't met, are Blaze, Thunder, and Eclipse, Guardians of Fire, Electricity, and Shadow."

Thunder stepped forward after Eclipse slid off his back, speaking in his strange reflective voice, "Thank you for your hospitality, Ezio. You may not realize how appreciated it actually is."

"Uh, glad I could help."

"Come on guys, we have too much to talk about. Frost, talk to Ezio, see if you can find out if he has any of the plants you need to help treat some of our wounds."

Ezio and Frost argued for most of three hours. Ezio was having difficulty keeping the dragons out of sight of most of the servants. He reminded himself that most of them were due some days off anyways, so he figured he'd give most of them a vacation. Except Jeeves, he needed to stay. Jeeves had been with his family, and just his family for about 15 years now. He lived on the grounds of the mansion, and dealt with most of their neighbors, as some of them were quite the peeping toms. He also knew some of the family's deepest secrets. Like the dragons. He wasn't happy about that.

"Sir, I mean no offence to you, but if your father found out, he would likely try to shoot them, and call the police, probably in that order. He's not exactly someone who likes to be wrenched from his routine. And how are you going to keep the servants away?"

"Two words Jeeves 'Paid Vacation' everybody likes to hear that. And everyone hasn't had a vacation in a long time, including you."

"Yes, sir, thanks for reminding me."

"Oh please, Jeeves, you know by the time this is done, you'll be rewarded far more than they will. Shoot, I'll give you the largest bonus ever known to mankind."

"Your words are gladdening, Jacob."

"Jeeves drop the formalities. If legendary creatures can call me by my nickname, and considering I've barely even met them, then you can certainly do the same. Call me Ezio."

"Very well sir, Ezio it is."

Frost yanked Ezio's attention back to herself, trying to describe a purple plant Ezio had never even seen in a book, much less ever heard of.

"Come on Ezio! It's one of the most common plants in our world!"

"Your world maybe, but not mine."

"Spyro, this isn't going to work, unless I get my hands on some hard medicinal items, there is no way I'm going to get anywhere farther. If they had equivalents, then maybe, but exactly the same plants? Forget it, there's not a single one that he even has seen. Either it's not here, or it doesn't exist, probably the later."

"Listen, we've never had to work on legendary creatures before, it's not my fault if we don't have the materials you need. I'll do the best I can, but there's not much I CAN do. We do however, have something that gives us an edge."

Spyro spoke up, "Frost, won't most of our injuries heal by themselves?"

"Of course, but if they do, then were going to end up with a hell of a lot of scars, and it'll take forever for them to heal completely. And some of them might never completely heal. Nova's wounds are grievous, I'm surprised she didn't die from massive hemorrhaging. From what I can tell, her blood loss was catastrophic. She must have lost at least a full gallon of blood. And that's going to take some time for her body to replace that amount."

"OK, so what are our options?" Spyro asked, turning to Ezio, "we can't just sit here for five years waiting for our wounds to heal naturally. Unless you have some plans to keep your father away, then we don't have much of a choice but to find equivalents in your world, Ezio." Frost opened her mouth to speak, "Don't even start Frost, we have other more important things to do than complain."

"Well, we have the internet. If the plants you talk about exist, they'll be on there. You can find anything on the internet. Kind of like rule 34…" Ezio said the last part under his breath, but continued after a pause, "As for us getting them is something different, some plants could be illegal for us to even own, much less use. You might know how to use them frost, but I don't, and I don't know specific limitations and issues with each and every plant."

"OK, show us this internet then, Ezio."

"We'll be able to access it in this room, which is where you guys will be staying." Ezio said, smiling slightly. Jeeves sighed.

"Why can you never have a normal sleep over, Ezio?"

* * *

Spyro was confused at first, "OK, so a computer is specially made to be able to perform millions of computations every second. Almost every person owns one anymore, so your race has networked them together to share information, in any form. You call this the internet, or the world wide web."

"Almost. The internet and the World Wide Web are two different things. The World Wide Web is considered certain sites, like Google, while the internet is what the information travels on. Among some of these pieces of information is something called search engines, the biggest and most expansive of which is Google. Google allows you to type any subject into a search bar, and it will scan millions of web pages in search of said phrase, and do so very quickly." Ezio explained, typing on the keyboard.

"OK, so do you have anything?" Frost asked apprehensively.

"You almost always get something; it's just finding the right thing that's tough. The search engine is very imprecise, and so it gets anything that pertains to said subject, and lets you sift through the vast amount of info. Now Frost, what is it you need?"

Frost listed off a list of plants used for medicinal purposes, and what they were used for, with Ezio typing rapidly on the keyboard. Spyro leaned in curiously, examining the screen. Ezio went through the different plants, and where they could be found, flipping through web pages at a rapid pace, writing down the information on a different program on the computer's screen. Eventually they reached a block.

"Frost, a lot of these have replacements in this time, or the equivalent can be found in today's medicine. However, there are a few drugs that are heavily illegal in this country. Take this one for instance." Ezio pointed out one of the plants, "The only good replacement for this is something called marijuana. It is the most used illegal drug. I can think of a few people who would sell it to me, but it'll be costly. Not only that, but if I'm not discrete enough, I will find myself taking a ride to prison. And that's not the worst one here. This one…" He pointed to one he had put in a separate list, "Methamphetamine is even more illegal than the last one, and is almost impossible to get. It can only be made in a lab, and if the process goes wrong, then it could be fatal to whoever uses it. Now I'm willing to be lenient with the marijuana, as it's used in medical practice. But no doctor in their right mind would go anywhere near the meth. It's too easy for something to go wrong. Not even that, but these materials have been tested on humans, not on ancient magical creatures. We don't know what the results will be. Not only tha, but the ORIGINAL plants, while having the same effect, could have evolved over the years, and might operate much differently now."

Frost was beyond aggravated at this point, "Then what do you suggest I do?"

"Make do without it, there's not much I can do. I'm even hesitant to let the marijuana in the house, much less the meth. Not even that, but a lot of these aren't exactly illegal, but they will raise some eyebrows from officials, and they'll want to launch into an in depth investigation if they found out the amount that were getting. It wouldn't take much for them to find out about you guys." Ezio said, running his hands through his hair.

"You don't understand the situation we're in, Ezio. We need these plants. We have injuries that will not heal without them. We've only gone as far as to patch ourselves up like this and push ourselves on because of our intense training. Even still, most of us are on the edge of collapse." Frost snapped.

"Then I'm open to any ideas you have."

Frost opened her mouth several times, then shut it abruptly, "Sir, what do you think?" She asked, turning to Spyro. He looked as if he were deep in thought, but snapped out of it quickly.

"I'm open to any ideas. Ezio, is there any way you could get past the local officials?"

Ezio looked thoughtful, "Yes several. I could apply for a temporary permit, but that would require revealing my intentions. I'm not willing to do so, and it would take several months to get it anyways. I could always try bribing an officer to get me one, but if I tried bribing the wrong one, I could end up in jail again, on two charges. I do have a friend in the police force, but there's no way he'd do something like that for me. Not unless he owed me a life debt. All options are closed in doing it legally. We need to think of something discrete. We have the advantage of having a high profile area, but it means that more people spy on us at once."

Blaze stepped forward, "Would it be possible to make it ourselves. It may be illegal, but unless we do something big like test weapons on our land, I doubt we would attract attention."

"I agree, that's the best option available to us, but there are problems also with that. We could make all the meth we want, and it wouldn't be dangerous provided we took necessary precautions. Like some bio suits. I don't know how to make it though, which provides some difficulty. Frost if anyone knows how to make it you do, but you won't be safe in the fumes. We would have to make it outside, or in a VERY well-ventilated area upwind of the place were making it at, plus containment so the scent doesn't drift too far. It would be mind-bogglingly complicated. Too complicated for us to do. You could do it inside, but you'd need a full body containment suit, otherwise you risk inhaling too much fumes. And there is no suit that could possibly fit on you guys."

"OK, so do we have any other ideas or options available to us then?" Spyro asked.

"The last option is to get it from outside sources. Once we have the stuff on our property, it wouldn't be hard to hide it. However, there are difficulties in doing so. One, the only place to get it would be from very shady sources that would give us away if they ever got in trouble with the law. Meth is, like I said, exceedingly rare. People don't deal in it often. If I asked the right people, I could probably find someone, but it would be risky. Ask too many questions, and someone is bound to report you. Also, we run the risk of some of these dealers being cops. The last thing I need is to get caught buying drugs illegally."

"That seems like the best option, although we need to gather the materials slowly then, cause if we gather them too fast, someone is likely to notice. I'd rather avoid your government until we are ready." Spyro commented.

"Then what I need is a distraction each time I go and get the materials. Something that is more important than getting drug dealers caught." Ezio said, looking at the ceiling in thought.

"Like what?" Blaze asked.

"I hate where this is going. But my only guess is to rob a bank. Any undercover cops in the area are bound to report, but the person robbing said bank is more than likely to get caught. You just don't do things like that and get away. Oh sure, you might delay the inevitable, but you'll get caught at some point." Ezio said. The dragons concentrated, each lost in their own thoughts. Cynder spoke up at last.

"We couldn't possibly do that. The only thing I could say is try to find someone close by. Do you know of anyone?"

"No I don't get into this business. The more our family stays out of the tabloids, the better." Ezio said. Spyro was puzzled by that.

"Tabloids?"

"A rumor newspaper. A newspaper is something that is mass distributed to the human population to spread news quickly, though it's useless anymore because of the internet and television." Ezio explained, still thinking to himself. All of a sudden, inspiration struck Nova.

"What about your friend in the police department? Would he know of anyone who dealt in these drugs nearby?"

"Most defiantly. But what do you suggest I do? Ask him?"

"Why not?"

Ezio opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't find any rebuttal.

"There's always the chance he might tell someone, but I doubt he will, especially if I asked him casually about it, as if I'm interested. I guess I'll call him up tomorrow and invite him to lunch. You guys will have to stay hidden."

"We can do that." Nova commented. Ezio smiled at her, remembering her performance in his car.

"I have no doubt of that, after you escaped that dude who's after you guys I had a tough time seeing you at all until you released your element. I thought all dragons breathed fire?"

"A common misconception that's understandable. We wield different elements. A purple dragon supposedly wields four elements. For instance I hold the power of fire, earth, electricity, and ice, while Cynder holds poison, shadow, wind, and fear." Spyro explained, but Ezio stopped him on the last one

"Wait fear?"

Cynder stepped forward, "Yes why?"

"Is that what you used before when you attacked me? Cause I felt no fear, but it was very loud." Cynder looked disturbed by the news. Spyro cocked his head towards cynder.

"Cynder, we've never had a chance to talk to someone we've used our elements on. How much did you apply?" Spyro asked.

"Only enough to freeze him in his spot, but it didn't work too well, since you knocked him out of the seat. I wasn't thinking completely clearly either, until Nova shouted. That's when I tackled you. You've been unusually apprehensive lately." She commented looking at Spyro, Spyro only brushed it off, and continued speaking with Ezio.

"There is much we don't understand about our own powers. If what you say is true, then we need to look into this further. I'd like to study it a bit more closely once we've healed completely. In the meantime, we need to keep an eye out for anything that speaks of Malefor's presence, no matter how small. Also keep a vigilant eye out for any prying human eyes that do not belong." Spyro said. Nova snorted.

"The only prying eyes we are likely to get are from Malefor." She commented, turning sideways and laying her head on the soft pillow of her cot that had been given to her.

"From how bad this guy sounds, Nova, I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did." Ezio commented.

"Yeah Nova, I'd like to hear the story of how you got out of this one." Spyro said, the others nodding in agreement.

"There would be no way to stand against Dark Master alone. Nova must have used trickery to gain upper hand, yes?" Quake asked. Nova told them the story of how she had blinded Malefor, and of her escape, as well as the events up until the point of her medical treatment.

"I've only been awake now for about five hours, as I slept a lot of time away." Nova explained. The expression on the different dragons' faces went from revulsion, and shock, to amusement and awe.

"Nova, you deserve a medal for that feat, though I doubt you'll ever get it." Nova smiled at the comment, but only closed her eyes.

"Being able to live again is a reward in itself. I could have sworn I wouldn't make it. I was about to tell you Spyro that you shouldn't bother yourself with the portal, your strength couldn't handle it." Nova said. The sun was beginning to rise again, and everyone's eyelids were beginning to droop. Ezio yawned.

"We'll talk about plans later. Right now we all need sleep. And don't worry about watches. This room is as defensible as anything you're going to see." He said, flopping onto his massive queen, "Jeeves you shouldn't have stayed, I can tell you're getting tired too. Get some rest, and take the day off tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir. But you'll need my help, I can tell, I'll stay with you as much as possible, and do anything you ask, but I think I'll take a break from the constant upkeep. None of the servants will be here to help anyways." Jeeves said, stifling a yawn of his own.

"Whatever makes you happy, Jeeves." Ezio said, already beginning to drift. The dragons were starting to slip into sleep as well, scattered across the room on cots. Jeeves slipped out and headed down the hallway.

"It took you guys long enough." He muttered to himself, rubbing his temples.


	6. Chapter 6

And so began the long arduous process of logistics, which at best was far more tedious than Ezio would have liked. Even getting information about local drug dealers, despicable as they were, was difficult. Ezio hated going against the law, it was against everything he prided himself in; honesty, pride, and trustworthiness. However, he decided that helping the dragons was far more important.

Getting the drugs was far more difficult than Ezio had ever expected, even the original meeting didn't go well. Returning to his room after lunch with his friend from the local police force, he was in a foul mood.

"What happened?" Spyro asked.

"Bah! I should have known that he wouldn't give anything away. He didn't give me a whole lot. When I asked him where the dealers mostly operated, he goes 'Not far from here'. Not far from here could be an hour drive according to New York standards. I should have known." Ezio said, rubbing his temples.

"Were you able to get anything of worth, Ezio?" Cynder asked from a corner, playing chess against Blaze, who was concentrating on the board. Ezio had taught them the game earlier that day, after Nova had expressed an interest in it. When Spyro insisted of playing a game against him, Ezio had accepted, and beat Spyro badly. He had spent many, many hours playing the game, but the dragons had taken to it quickly. Ezio almost laughed at Blaze's situation, which looked as if he was winning, but from a distance, he could see Cynder was already surrounding Blaze's king, and he was failing to notice the situation.

"Not anything new, really, except the fact that there 'nearby'. If I know my friend that means there within a few blocks, which means we have a small area to search. I might have an idea were to go." Ezio explained. Quake was spectating the game, but looked up presently.

"Could not a sneaky dragon perhaps, in the dead of night, get the drugs?" He asked, speaking in his baritone. It always seemed to rumble Ezio's ribs.

"I wish I could say yes, but there are two things against that. First is that the dealers are human, and if a dragon appeared, he would likely call local law enforcement. That or he would run as far and fast as he could. Two is that it's exceedingly difficult to be sneaky with Langley around, even if you don't live downtown. No, that's out of the question, I'm not willing to risk it." Ezio said, running his hands through his hair, "I suppose the only option I have is to look as hard as I can in the surrounding areas."

"Then you need some sort of protection if you run into danger." Spyro said.

"Don't worry about me; I have more than enough protection. And you'll know if I'm in trouble." Ezio said, smiling.

The following weeks after his luncheon with the police, Ezio left early in the morning, and arrived late at night, bringing nothing but determination with him. The dragons did little more than talk, strategize, heal, eat, and sleep. Ezio knew that they couldn't do much else, as by now, they had held together with only adrenaline. Now that there was no more danger, the dragons let themselves out of there heightened battle state.

"It's one of the advantages of being a dragon. We can enhance our abilities by turning on or off adrenaline pumps at will within our body. It's natural within every dragon, but only a few ever can control the flow specifically. We can go for weeks on adrenaline, and specifically know our limits. Some of us have survived battles because our adrenaline control gives us heightened reflexes. Others, Nova being a prime example, have survived grievous injuries simply by allowing us to fuel ourselves with adrenaline instead of blood." Frost explained. Ezio had made sure not to cross the dragoness the first time he had met her. She functioned more as a combat medic, being just as lethal as any of the other squadron members, but being also adept in healing the others. His injuries healed the fastest. She also seemed to despise humans, and showed the least amount of respect towards Ezio and Jeeves.

Most of the other dragons were friendlier, although some, like Thunder, seemed neutral towards him and the butler. Ezio was curious about the lightning guardian's personality. Eclipse had seemed more than willing to explain that most of them had lost something in the war.

"Think about it. Most of us have issues, we lost someone near and dear to us in that blasted war. I lost a good friend." She explained off in a corner of his room. The dragons seemed to self-impose an exile to his quarters, and he suspected that Spyro had ordered no one leave or enter, for fear of being discovered.

"How can you talk about it so easily?" Ezio asked, awed that she could do so without any sign of emotion.

"I – I will admit, it is still difficult to think about it, and it saddens me that she couldn't be hear with me, but I have new friends now, and besides, one of the biggest rules of the squadron is to not get distracted. Even still, others lost something as well. Blaze lost his father, who was an excellent warrior. Spyro and Cynder had no parents or home, but they did have something akin to such. You would not believe how much it hurt them to turn their back on Warfang and run. Spyro also lost all four of his mentors, the previous guardians. They lived just long enough to reinstate the guardianship, which you see before you. Blaze lost his entire village to slaughter. If anything he has the most determination I've ever seen, although his power really isn't as big as some of ours. Thunder, I know, lost his mother, whom was incredibly close to him. I still hear him whimper in his dreams sometimes, though he seems to be coming out of his shell as of recent. Even frost lost something, her dignity. She lost it because she was captured by one of Malefor's generals, but was able to escape before Malefor could exact anything from her. But, she didn't escape unscathed. We think it was a heavy amount of abuse, both physical and mental." Eclipse narrated, going around the room.

"What about Nova?" Ezio asked. He had taken a liking to the dragoness ever since she had awakened, and of any of them, she was the one who put him most at ease. She seemed lively and loved to joke around, even if the joke was against her. He also found that she had the most heart and willpower out of them all. She had begun to walk around after only 5 hours since she was healed, and was able to hold he own when the dragons sparred, which they did frequently. He also found that she was incredibly curious. She almost always was reading, taking in knowledge as if her life depended on it.

"I don't know anything about her before she joined the squadron. She came about two weeks after the second war started, and she seems as if a madman in battle. But it's not like she's a berserker, or she would have been dead a long time ago. If anyone could match Spyro's power, it could be her. That's a belief that I believe in even more now that she's faced the dark master directly and survived. And if anyone knows of her past, it's Spyro, and I doubt he'd give that out without Nova's consent." Eclipse said, peering at the dragoness, who was currently pouring over a thick book on how to repair internal combustion engines. Ezio had no idea how much fierceness the dragoness had in her, because she always seemed so calm and at peace with the world.

"She hides her sorrows well." Ezio commented, and then left the subject hanging.

* * *

The dark alley muffled Ezio's footsteps from the busy street as he dodged from shadow to shadow. His breathing was slightly labored.

"Do you search for something friend? Or run from something?" A ragged looking man left the cover of his dumpster and approached him. Ezio was slightly startled at the mans appearance, as he was very ragged. But the man looked friendly enough.

"A little of both. Perhaps you could help me." Ezio stated, albeit a little nervously, "I'm looking for a big time drug dealer. Someone who deals in more than one product."

With a twinkle and a wink, the haggard hobo thought on his comment, "Aye that be something big you're looking for, eh? What you be plannin' ta do with those drugs, eh? I hope you're not plannin' on consumin' em? You'd be dead if ya did. Sounds more like your plannin' on startin' your own little drug empire."

"Maybe that's why the police want to interrogate me." Ezio said, glancing from behind his cover. An officer stopped at the end of his street, scratched his head and peered down the alleyway. Deciding against it, he turned and jogged off down the street. Ezio let his pent up breath escape him, "Once this is done I won't be able to come anywhere near here."

The man cackled a bit, "Hehe, I could help you, I know someone quite powerful, yes I do. Would you like to meet him?"

"Would I? Of course I would, but you see, there is this little matter of you being sane, no offence. And then there is the matter of trust." Ezio said, smiling a bit. The man only widened his grin.

"Aye, I might not be sane, but at least I know it, which only makes me crazy. Trust me and search me, no imaginary friends here, least not yet."

"I still don't like it, but anymore now I don't have a choice." Ezio said, shrugging. The old coot cackled and shuffled down the alley, struggling on a gnarled staff.

_Man what is happening around me? I feel as if I've been thrown into a legend. Everything seems so cliché-ish._

The man led him to a side door, and knocked three times in quick succession. When the door opened, the man grabbed Ezio by the sleeve and flung him inside. However, instead of some trashy apartment as Ezio was expecting, he found himself standing in an incredibly opulent reception room. It was even more richly lavished than his own home.

_Impressive, but it'll take more than riches to impress me. If this guy has any sense then he'll have more than riches protecting him._

A female at the desk in front of him smiled and ushered to him, and Ezio followed.

_What am I doing? I'm flying blind with no idea what my destination is! Jacob what is wrong with you?!_

The woman ushered him through a door, and Ezio again blinked at his surroundings, which were again incredibly luxurious, but sparse, considering that there was only two chairs and a desk in the room, plus a large window. The window in fact was so large, that it wrapped all the way around the room, except for where the door lead into the room. There was a single bright light above, and the room was elevated to an extreme degree, so that a person could see all of the surrounding landscape, and even off in the distance, Manhattan Island, and beyond that, the sea.

A single man sat in the chair behind the desk. He was adorned only a single black suit, no tie and no unnecessary folds. His pail skin was in sharp contrast to his suit. As for the man himself, there was not a single sign of blemish on him. He was well muscled, but his skin looked as if he hadn't gotten sunlight for many years, despite the huge window surrounding them. The man had a smile on his face, but the smile never reached his eyes.

Ezio knew now that something was amiss, and that this was no average drug dealer, if he was indeed a drug dealer at all.

_This would be a man who either owns an empire, or a man who starts one. One type will lead me down the path of death; the other will lead me to success. Whoever this man is, he must have a great amount of informants, so I must be careful to never lead him to the dragons, no matter the cost._

"Fortune smiles upon you friend, if you are able to see me and not be in mortal danger." The man said, bridging his fingers together. His voice was smooth as velvet, but it had a slightly cold ton, as if the velvet was made with water. Or perhaps made with shadow.

"Indeed, your reception is most uncommon though." Ezio said, sitting in the high backed leather chair in front of the desk.

"It had occurred to me that if I were ever discovered, a lone hobo would draw no attention. Loki is indeed mad, but he is also brilliant. That also combined with the fact that he can read minds, makes him indispensable." The man said smiling. Ezio blinked.

_SHIT!_

"His ability isn't the best, but it is enough. He was able to tell me that you are not part of the police force, and that you are in a great need of drugs." The man said, "He also said that you hide a great secret that he wasn't able to figure out. I would give a great deal of money to find out what that secret is, and perhaps even give you your drugs as well, free of charge. I might even be able to let up once you start your business. Normally I have my rivals killed, but this is different. Would you mind confessing this secret?"

Ezio tilted his head down, thinking fast.

_There is no way I'm giving the squadron up just so I can get the drugs for free, it would ruin me. But then he might have me killed._

All of a sudden, a voice sounded deep within Ezio's ear, "Ezio, can you hear me?" Ezio nearly spoke, until he saw the man still staring at him, he had no idea what was going on. It occurred to him that he did not know his name. Ezio barley even spoke, he mouthed more than anything what he said.

"Cynder?"

A pause, then, "Who else?"

"I'm a little busy at the moment. Call back later."

"Did you find someone to get the drugs?"

Ezio paused, "I think so, but I need some help."

"An alibi?"

"Aye."

Cynder spoke quickly in his ear. And in turn, Ezio spoke to the man.

"I intend to start a drug empire, but not in your realm. I respect my rivals, and to insure my survival, I do not encroach upon their real-estate. As for the secret, one of my promised first clients is the New Orleans Saints football team." Ezio hated tarnishing a person's reputation, but he had no other choice. The man stirred, and stared at him intently.

"That is indeed huge news. I realize that you do not know my name, and I do not know yours, for the sake of formality, my alias is Smaug." Smaug tilted his head towards Ezio, and Ezio answered.

"And mine, Ezio. If you wish to find my real name, you should look elsewhere."

"Agreed, it is the same with mine. Sports teams are always high quality clients, because they wish to remain anonymous, which they never do, but they pay high prices for a large volume. The amount you're requesting isn't enough for an empire though." Smaug said, still peering at him through his bridged fingers.

"Aye, I am gaining my drugs through various clients, and until I have enough money to get on my feet, and produce the drugs I need, I shall be looking to buy low and sell high. Now I have kept up my end of the bargain, will you keep up yours?"

Smaug gave him such a hard look that Ezio dearly wished to avert his eyes, but he didn't. Instead he stared just as hard back.

And the minutes lengthened…

Finally, Smaug tilted his head towards him, sighing, "You have bested me at my own game, Ezio. Very well, I shall uphold my end of the bargain. But I never want to see your face again, and if I should, you will not live to see another month."

Ezio nodded, "Where shall I pick up the goods?"

"My loading dock is just around the corner. You may take however much drugs you need, just do not take anything else. Also, as a goodwill gift, I will also give you an armament of your choice, to guard yourself. Use it wisely."

"You are most kind, Smaug. However, if you give me away in the slightest, I shall be far less accommodating. Even if it would take me to the edge of death, you will not live to see another hour."

"And the same with me."

"Agreed. Good doing business with you." Ezio turned on his heel, and resisting the urge to run, took a brisk pace, and walked until he was out of the building, retrieved the truck he had brought, instead of the mustang, and packed the bundles of plants under the trucks bed cap, then locked everything securely, and on his way out, talked quickly with the loading dock manager.

"He said I could pick one weapon."

"Yes, he did say that."

"We have many weapons at my house, what do you have?" Ezio said, peering into one of the warehouses dark corners. The portly man, who had the largest beer belly Ezio had ever seen, walked into a shadow, and returned carrying one of the biggest, most decked out gun he had ever seen. Ezio raised an eyebrow, and the man shrugged, and set the weapon down.

"If anyone asks you didn't get this beauty here. This is the highest grade weapon we have. Military grade sniper rifle, called the Barrette M82. And don't ask where I got it." The man said.

"Why would you give this to me?"

"Because it's the best one I've got, and I know you would have picked it." The man shrugged, heaved the weapon into his arms, and then handed it to Ezio. The monstrous gun was so heavy, Ezio could barely lift it.

"Be careful. If not handled properly, the recoil can and will rip your arm off." The man said with a smile. Ezio slid the weapon into the back of the Hummer, next to the plastic vials of meth. Careful to strap everything down tightly, he then set off back home.

"Cynder, you still there?" A pause

"Yes." She responded, her voice echoing in the cab.

"Have the squad meet me in the garage." Ezio said.

* * *

"How?" Frost asked.

It had been a week since Ezio had lunched with his friend from the police department. Nothing much had happened during that time.

_How is it that I go from the extreme good side of the law, to the extreme bad side?_

"A long story, at best, Frost, let's get this stuff up to my room, and get it on your wounds and scars. This will be enough, right?" Ezio asked, heaving the massive rifle onto his back. He could hold the weight, but not forever.

Frost uttered a harsh laugh, "I could heal an army with this. But it's nice to be resupplied." She shouldered a full four bags of plants, and a case of the meth.

"Ezio, you need not worry. You might have obtained this stuff illegally, but it will not bring any sort of harm. I know what I'm doing." Frost said, grabbing a small case of whitish powder between her teeth, "Com ah!"

Ezio related his tail to the entire squadron while frost applied the drugs. Most of the plants got ground into salves, and spread on the open wounds. Those that had healed and left scars needed the meth, which Ezio was startled to find erased the scars almost instantly.

"So Cynder helped me out then and I-"

"There done! It should all be finished healing in about two weeks."

Ezio was aggravated at first, "Frost do you really have to – wait, two weeks? That's it? I figured you guys would need shelter for months! This is great; you guys will be gone before my dad gets back!" As soon as Ezio said it, he got a very melancholy feeling. He realized that he would miss the creatures when they left. But he was also glad to be rid of them. They were expensive beyond belief, and they took all of his time to care for.

All of the dragons had smug smiles on their faces, except Nova, she was staring intently at Ezio, as if she knew what he was going through. Spyro stepped forward.

"Aye, we should be gone by weeks end, actually, we may not be recovered, but we'll take it slow. And by that time, all of us should be able to fly again. Your hospitality has been most appreciated Ezio, and we look forward to seeing you again. Cynder, I need your help, we must make contact with our dear friend Needlefoot, and he can tell us where the dragons of this age reside."

The two dragons did an abrupt about face, and took to the air quickly, flapping their velvet wings to gain altitude. Ezio was always awed by the dragons in flight. They acted as if they were born for the sky. From what Ezio had heard though, Nova was the best out of all of them, and their flying paled in comparison to her abilities. They said she seemed less likely to flap through the air, and more likely to slide and weave. Quake had gone so far as too mention that she had pulled a turn that could have rent metal in half with the sheer amount of G's, even though she had pulled a few muscles in the process. However, Ezio had yet to see Nova in flight, since her wing was still broken.

"Our next trip should prove interesting, eh?" Blaze said. He tapped the side of his nose knowingly. Quake's lips thinned to slits, but he said nothing. Ezio almost laughed at the sight, but he was even more amused by the spectacle over in the corner. Thunder and Eclipse played a game of chess against each other. Even though he knew their personalities were different to the extreme, which he knew would alter their play styles, but they matched each other in power. Thunder seemed to favor a direct approach, while Eclipse loved to sneak about, not taking many pieces until the moment was right, and then striking out. However, since Thunder took so many pieces, and his offense was so strong, Eclipse couldn't possibly formulate a plan. Currently, there was only the two queens, four pawns, and a knight each on the board, neither of them willing to give position or yield it either. Neither of them gained ground. Eclipse had a snarl on her face, showing she was frustrated. Ezio was startled to see that Thunder also had a shadow of a grin on his face too, but it never reached his eyes.

_He's aggravated as well._ Ezio smirked to himself, _they make a good couple, but nobody would be able to tell them that._ Early on, Nova had explained that the Squadron they were a part of, Alpha Squadron, had exclusive rules. Ezio had been curious, since he had noticed that, even though Spyro was always focused on the task at hand, he always failed to notice that Cynder was always watching him, even while occupied with incredibly engaging tasks. The same was true with Thunder and Eclipse, except that at least Thunder seemed to notice, and even at times they smiled at each other, Thunders always being a comforting one, and Eclipses being slightly devious, like she was planning something, and it was as if they hid a very well-guarded secret. Nova had told Ezio that the Squadron held two rules in great importance, the first that no member should ever distract him or herself from the task at hand, since distraction could lead to disobedience and death. The second is that the squadron always put people before themselves, even if it were an enemy.

"If Spyro could capture Malefor, he would. But I've known for a while now that Malefor will never give up, save for in death. The only issue is that he won't die." Nova said, glancing at her wounds. Ezio had heard the stories of her bravery in facing impossible odds in the past, and Ezio wondered how she had ever gotten out of some of the situations alive, much less victorious. She had even faced Malefor single—handedly and survived, even though she had failed in killing him. Ezio knew that no other relationships existed except for friendships. In fact, he couldn't see Frost even finding a partner. Not that she was incapable of getting one, as her body, according to Eclipse, who was jealous of Frost for having such a good form, attested too, but the fact that she may not want one. He could see quake finding a partner, and see Blaze finding one even easier, since Quake had told Ezio he had been a ladies man back before the second war had begun. Ezio admitted to himself that he had no issue seeing Blaze as a ladies man.

"Caution, Blaze." Quake's deep baritone snapped Ezio out of his reflective state, "Possibly, our trip be far more adventurous than you might want to be. Remember, we still know not if Dark Master survived apocalypse."

"Yeah, yeah, I somehow doubt that anything could survive a planet wide explosion." Blaze said, yawning and stretching out his muscles, lying down on the plush carpet. All of a sudden, Sirens where heard outside. Ezio tensed, as did the rest of the room. After about a minute, the Sirens disappeared into the night, and the room was unnaturally quiet, except for the sound of their breathing and the whisper of wind through the trees. After about five minutes, Ezio exhaled, long and slow. Blaze seemed as if he had seen a ghost. Spyro and Cynder flew back then, silent, and Ezio could see some of the color had drained from Spyro's face, but he appeared strong.

Ezio jumped up, "Where you followed?"

"No, we got lucky; they were after a runaway car. I don't like staying here though, especially tonight, it gives me the creeps." Spyro said, shaking his head, "Needlefoot was able to provide us with locations of several dragon colonies."

"Did any seem promising?"

"Yes, one he said was south in a place called 'France'" Spyro said, lying down, as were the rest of the squadron. Quake however remained upright, listening intently.

"I can show you where it is tomorrow." Ezio said, pointing at the computer, "However, you'll have to be careful not to be spotted, as France is smaller, and denser. I'm surprised a colony lives there."

"Needlefoot said it was because of the warmth." Spyro said, drooping his eyes.

"That would be it." Ezio said, lying down on his queen, "Jeeves, no offense, but I want you to stay here tonight. If we are attacked, or if the police come, I want you to be ready with me." The butler had been unusually quiet the past few days. He seemed to jerk out of his reverie when Ezio addressed him. Ezio resolved to speak to him about it later.

"Of course, sir."

Blaze opened a single eye, "Come on Quake, stop trembling and rest, it was a false alarm, nothing is going to happen tonight, and we don't need a ground shaker watching over us."

"Quiet, Blaze."

"Hey don't take offense, I-"

"I'm serious, I just heard something." Quake said. No sooner had he stopped then more sirens started, and they were much nearer than last time. They grew so close, Ezio was sure they were outside his window, and yet they did not rush about, for fear of giving away their positions and existence. After about a minute, the sirens began to receded, and then finally disappeared altogether. After about a minute, Ezio heard a very faint blaring horn, and then silence except for the wind. It was about ten minutes before someone said something.

"OK, it's too quiet, someone needs to say something." Blaze uttered quietly. All at once there was a collective sigh, Quake glared at Blaze, but said nothing.

"Perhaps we should have watches tonight. Quake, do you mind taking first watch? You seem to be the most alert right now." Quake growled an affirmative, and then when Flame was about to say something, he growled a warning. Ezio took the remote for the room, and turned the lights off. Last of all, he turned off the gas fireplace, bathing the room in darkness. The last thing he heard before he went into a fitful sleep was Blaze muttering under his breath.

"I need to learn when to shut my mouth."


	7. Chapter 7

"No, you! That goes over there, and THAT goes over there! You there, stop getting in his way! Yes Doc, I know the plants are Illegal, unless used by a licensed physician!" Ezio was directing the logistics throughout the garage, issuing orders left and right. The servants had returned from their collective holiday in the middle of the night, and many of them were aggravated by their lack of an explanation of what kind of trip they were preparing for. The cook had given Ezio an especially hard time, wondering why he had needed enough food to feed several cattle for about two weeks.

_If this keeps up, there not even going to be able to lift this much weight, much less fly with it. How are we supposed to do this?_

Each dragon had gone out to either find specific things, or to fly combat air patrol sorties. Ezio felt exposed with a lack of mythical over powerful creatures, which he found to be ironic too. Jeeves however was in his element, taking orders from Ezio in stride. Ezio had also found his sudden outburst of attention disturbing compared to his withdrawal from the past few days. Presently, the cook had been aggravated by having to put together instant make, lightweight, nutritional, pre-packaged meals for 7 people for fourteen days. He had spent the better half of the morning getting together everything he needed, but it would take the rest of the day to finish preparing them.

"Listen, cookie. I understand the issue your having! But there are more important things, so just do it as fast as you can!" Ezio exclaimed, arguing with the cook. A large husky man, who seemed more built for being a mechanic or a construction worker stood opposite him. He spoke in a low voice that seemed as deadly as it was smooth.

"And what about the rest of us here, eh? We need our nourishment as well. And I need time to make meals for the entire staff." The man argued back, gesturing at the rest of the workers who were scurrying about.

"Well what do you have that IS pre-made?"

"I have several cases of MRE's that will-"

"Those will work just fine, now we need to worry about water, and how they're going to carry the lo-"  
All of a sudden, a voice sounded so loud and so nearby that Ezio thought a bomb had gone off.

"EZIO, WE HAVE ISSUES!" Ezio jumped about a foot in the air, landed and swiveled left and right before he realized that it was Cynder. The dark purple dragoness had explained how her air power could be used to communicate over distances. From what she had said, all she did was vibrate the air in his ear and it created sound. This time though, it was so loud it tickled and made his ear ring.

"Um, hang on cookie, I'll get back to you." Turning away from the cook, Ezio approached a corner, and spoke in a low voice.

"What is it Cynder?"

_____________  
Nova was enjoying her time out of the stuffy house. She had forgotten how much she had missed the air under her wings, and the sun shining on her back. She would have done aerobatics for a bit, but her body hadn't allowed that, since her wing would have snapped – again – under the strain of the air. Even still, she enjoyed the view flight brought her, and the feeling of seeing everything that was going on around her.

Spyro had given the order for the squadron to resume combat readiness, since everybody could fly again. He and Cynder had been visiting Needlefoot in his hole, studying the new dragons they were trying to encounter. Nova still had the feeling that Malefor was still alive. In fact, she got the feeling that everyone had gotten that feeling.

Whatever that means.

"Bah, it means this war isn't over yet, and that we've either gained a bunch of allies, or a bunch of enemies. Though I trust Ezio. If he had wanted to give us away or kill us, then he could have done so by now. We got lucky to find such a good friend like that. I got lucky to find someone like that." Nova shuddered at how close she had come to death. Even still, she was healing quickly enough. It had been about three weeks since they had entered this timeframe, and they had yet to have any misfortune befall them.

"Maybe nothing bad will happen. Maybe we can finally live in pea-" An engine suddenly roared up beneath her, and she peered downwards, and saw a black sports car racing up the drive.

"Shit. Me and my big mouth." Nova tilted her wings off to the south and, using her power, pulled herself forward, yanking the light backwards, but holding it where it was, while shrouding herself in her element. A second later, she saw Spyro and Cynder about5 thousand feet above the ground, and pulling up next to them, told them the news. Spyro grew slightly pale but kept his cool. Turning to Cynder while angling back towards the house, he began issuing orders, "Nova, I want you over that house now, keep a watch in the distance for us. Cynder, give the RTB order to the rest of the Squadron, tell them to turn around and come home, ASAP. And tell Ezio to prepare for visitors."

"Aye, sir."

Nova was already gone.

Spyro increased the tempo of his leathery of his wings, "I sure hope there friendly."

"Jeeves put everything away! At least hide it, I don't care where! No, no! That should go in the tilt-rotor! I don't give a shi-"

All of a sudden, the door to the garage flipped open, and there stood a black Aston Martin in the driveway. The car started to pull forward, and then stopped. The engine shut down, and the door slowly opened, and out poked a black, spit shined, dress shoe. And out steeped a man bearing a striking resemblance to Ezio, despite the fact that he had apparel on as if he where just coming out of a business meeting, instead of as if he were going into combat. He was smiling from ear to ear, as if the world had smiled upon him greatly.

"Son! How are you! Sorry about my sudden departure, but the company wanted me at a new unveiling! I was going to call, but I thought you might be at school. Speaking of which, why aren't you there?" The man said. He made a quick sweep over his employees, and then his eyes landed on the plants, over in a dark corner. His smile faded slightly, and he began to walk over to them, but Ezio intercepted him.

"How was your trip, father?" The man's smile widened, as if he were enjoying an engaging game of chess, and he knew he had his opponent cornered.

_He knows he has me. There's no way to get out of this one._

Ezio stepped aside, to let his father past, thinking on how to get out and resume preparing for the dragons departure. Also, he needed to figure out how to keep his father from discovering the dragons. His father stopped at the plants, and picked up one of the glass vials that contained the meth. He spoke in a deadly quiet voice.

"It was enjoyable. I've never seen Hong Kong before." He paused, turning to face the rest of them, "I want everyone except for my son and Jeeves out of here now."

The servants hurried to get out. As soon as they were, Ezio opened his mouth to speak, "Dad, I-"

"Jacob, I do not want to hear it. I know what these are, and if it wasn't for the fact that I'm not surprised, I would call the police right now, and knowing it is the best thing for you, not lose a bit of sleep over it. Jeeves, did you know of this?" He asked, turning to the butler.

"Yes, sir, but Ez – Jacob, is not a drug addict, and has not consumed the products you see here at all." Jeeves said, in a calm clear voice.

"Then why are they here?" The father asked.

Ezio shuffled his feet, like he knew was expected of him, "I was saving them for a friend."

"I see. In that case, I must isolate you from these friends. The first thing that I'm going to do is-"

His phrase was cut short in a rush of wind, as several dark silhouettes appeared outside the garage. Spyro called out from the head of the pack.

"Ezio? Who's visiting right now? Are they hostile, or can we trust them?" He called out. Cynder lay a paw on his shoulder as they stepped into the garage interior.

"Um, Spyro?"

The purple dragon stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes met with the man's. The man went stark pale white. If he hadn't of pulled up his pants leg, drawn a gun and started firing, Spyro would have thought he would have fainted. Only Spyros reflexes saved him, as he threw up a shield on instinct. The dragons scattered in different directions, finding cover behind cars or other obstacles.

Ezio's father slammed into Jeeves and Ezio, throwing them behind a nearby truck with a huge bulk. The man dropped his mag and reloaded from the strap on his leg, which contained the holster for the gun.

"Dad, no! Don't there not-"Ezio's sentence was cut short as Thunder bolted across a gap, sliding under cover beneath a red Ferrari. The man started pulling off shots as quick as he could. Frost appeared around a Dune Buggy off too there right, and hurled an ice spike. It was the first time Ezio had ever seen one of the dragons use there elements in combat. He was astounded when the blade did miss, but drove halfway through the trucks engine compartment, lodging somewhere in the engine block, right next to the mans head..

Suddenly, during mid-shot, Jeeves stood up and brought his fist down hard on top of the man's head, knocking him clean out.

"Shit, man. Guess not all humans are friendly." Blaze commented, rolling out from behind a motorcycle. Spyro walked up to the unconscious man, looking into his face. Ezio was a little pale, but he got up and took the gun from the man's hand.

"Who was he?" Cynder asked, coming up next too Spyro.

"His name is William. He is my father. I never expected to see him this early, which is why he took us by surprise." Ezio said, getting up, shoving the gun into his belt, "Man, we are in deep crud now. Jeeves, we have no choice BUT to run. And why the hell did you knock him out? You've never shown any resistance before him before. Are you really more loyal to me? Or is there something else going on? Never mind, later. When my dad wakes up, he's going to insist on calling the police, and he'll do anything to do so. Even knock me out and turn me in. He won't be listening to common sense either. This makes things much more complicated."

"What do you suggest, Ezio?" Spyro asked.

"I have only one option now."

"Aye, we need to fly." Ezio replied.

"Do what now?"

"What kind of aircraft are we looking for?" Spyro asked from the floor in the back, "It seems that were going to need something bigger than a private aircraft."

"We will, but I still don't know what we're going to find. Ideally, I'd say let's get a very large business jet with long range, but that's not possible. We're going to have to see what we can find in the hangers."

Ezio was currently driving the largest vehicle they had, an H2 hummer, modified. Jeeves was behind them piloting the same thing, carrying the other half of the squadron. Nova spoke up next too blaze.

"Damnit blaze, your wing point is in my gut. Ezio, what would happen if we didn't find what we're looking for?"

"Sorry sweetheart." Blaze commented, and received a small tail slap.

"I don't know." Ezio said.

The local airport wasn't that large. Even the larger airports were small, compared to nearby Langley. Ezio had lived near the base most of his life. He had always seen the B1 lancers they would send out for test flights. Ezio knew that a lancer would be the perfect aircraft, but that they would never get one. Ezio was far more confident in his ability to find a good plane for them to use.

"OK, Jeeves, Nova, search the hangers on the left side of the runway. We're looking for something big. I and Cynder will take the right. If you find anything, keep it too yourself. Report your findings when were all back here." Ezio said, crouching and heading off towards the main runway.

The first few hangers he came across were nothing more than two or three small aircraft. Cessna's and pipers, and even a P-51, but nothing that would work on extended trips. On the second too last hanger though, Ezio came across a Hondajet, an aircraft that had just come out recently as an option to a large private jet, the Hondajet was smaller and cheaper than it's bigger brothers. It MIGHT be able too hold all the dragons, Ezio, Jeeves, and their supplies.

The last hanger contained nothing.

Upon returning to their vehicles, Ezio was dismayed that they had all returned, and wore nothing but hardened expressions.

"Anything?" Ezio asked.

"Nothing."

"Not a."

"Nothing to report, sir."

"Blast, I suppose our only option is the Hondajet I found." Ezio was about to start to get everything going when Nova pointed up behind them.

"Or we could use that." Nova said, a smile appearing on her face. The aircraft looked a bit oldfashioned, but Ezio knew the Silhouette in an instant.

"Hang on, that's a B-17." Ezio said, looking at Jeeves.

"I didn't know that any operated around here." Jeeves said, still peering at the aircraft. It passed directly overhead, and instead of hearing the loud growl of a radial engine like he expected, he heard a low whine, and the thrum of the props.

"It's not a radial. It's been modified. Those are turbo-props." As Ezio watched the plane more and more, he saw other things that indicated that the craft was state of the art. Like the twelve bladed fanprops, the markings of carbon fiber, and the extra slots on the side of the fuselage, which Ezio guessed were for rocket assisted takeoffs. The pilot got out, and was the only one too do so, and as he walked towards his hanger, the empty one that Ezio had seen, a fuel truck came rushing out too refuel the aircraft, along with a small tug. A maintenance crew jumped out of the tug when it stopped.

"Now what, Ezio?" Cynder asked, appearing by his side. She and Nova had cloaked when the aircraft flew overhead.

"Now we know what we're taking. Let me go alone first, I have some things I want to do." He was gone for about fifteen minutes. When he came back, he wore a grim expression.

"There was no way the man was going to sell the aircraft, so I slipped ten million into his desk, and we're going to steal it. We'll wait until they've finished refueling it, and then we'll take the opportunity and steal it then. It'll be mayhem on the runway, but we can do it." Ezio said, opening the door, "Come on guys, time to get ready. Nova, you'll have to cloak all of them except Eclipse and Cynder. They can travel in Jeeves's and my shadows."

"Which one?" Spyro asked.

"The big one."

"Bow chika bow wow."

"Shut up Blaze!"

"OK, looks like they've finished the inspection. Jeeves, I need you to disconnect the tug, do you think you can do that?"

"I'll try my best, sir."

"I'll get the plane started. Nova, once everyone is onboard; you can release the hold on your power."

"Hurry up Ezio, I can't hold this forever." Nova said, somewhere too his left.

"OK, then, go go go." Ezio took off in a crouched run, Jeeves doing the same. When Ezio reached the plane, he grabbed a pitot tube sticking out, and hoisted himself up enough to release the latch, which swung downward, with a ladder hanging over the pavement. As each dragon climbed in, the cloak on them dropped. Finally, Nova climbed in, and Spyro grabbed her paw, half dragging her towards the front of the craft, where the dragons where gathering. Ezio climbed into the cockpit, and saw that his guess on the craft being state of the art wasn't far off. The cockpit had an entire glass counsel, all of it computer screens, and dual heads up displays. The surface of the consoles was smooth and sleek, like someone had taken the old fortress and whipped it clean. Down below, Ezio could see Jeeves, whom had grabbed a sledgehammer, and was approaching the men operating the tug.

"Don't hurt them Jeeves. We can't afford to be called murderers too." Ezio said to himself.

"Ezio? Nova's recovered, but where do you want us?" Spyro said, calling up to the cockpit.

"Man the machine gun hatches! You won't have to operate the guns, just use your powers if you have too. Shoot, I don't even think the guns are still there. If something bad happens though, I'll let you know. Use these too communicate, they're closed circuit radios, for the people onboard." Ezio tossed him a group of small microphones, "Just, put them on. I don't know how, just put them on."

"OK, and how are we supposed to get out of here?"

A loud commotion was heard outside.

"What the fu-?" Ezio heard someone shout, and then a very loud bang.

"You shithead! You broke the main bar! We can't tow any aircraft now!" all of a sudden, Jeeves appeared inside.

"Ezio! Go now!" Ezio punched the primer, then heard a whir, and upon the sound, pushed the throttles forward, igniting the fuel in the engines, and starting the craft. He heard several shouts, but nothing hit them, so he figured everyone was clear. He pushed on the brakes on the left side hard, and the plane swung around, aiming for the far end of the runway.

"Tower, this is Fortress, is the runway clear for takeoff?" he heard some fuzz.

"John, is that you? You just got back! Theres no way your going out ag-"

"Shut up man, if you don't want any accidents, you divert any incoming aircraft NOW. I'm taking off without your permission or not." Jeeves sat down beside him.

"This isn't john, is it?"

"No."

Ezio heard some scrambling, and then he heard a distant shout, followed several seconds later by a very loud jet roar, as a private jet flew not ten feet above them. At that point, Ezio punched the throttle forward, and the engines roared to life. Seeing a button marked boost, Ezio punched it, then yelled back into the craft.

"EVERYONE HANG ON!"

And the rockets roared to life, lurching the aircraft forwards. Ezio saw the speedometer rocket past two hundred, and he eased back on the yoke, pulling the aircraft into the sky at an extreme angle. A couple warning buzzers sounded in his ears, but he ignored them.

"Ezio, level out or your going to stall!" Ezio let up on the stick, and the aircraft settled into normal flight, rockets still flaring. The miniature explosives went out as the plane reached 350.

"Jeeves, reach into his electronic journal, see if he has any cruise settings."

It was quiet for a moment, as the engines thrummed on either side of them.

"I never thought that I'd be doing something like this. I've always dreamed of flying away from this place, but now I'm actually doing it. And we're going to France! How cool is that?"

Jeeves shrugged beside him, "I've only ever been once. Most of the country is about as bland as this one, but when it really gets good is when you get to the gorges in the south of France, where we're going."

"You've been to France?"

"Indeed."

"It seems I learn more and more about you as time goes along. Come to think about it, I don't really know much about you. You've always been a good friend, that's good enough for me." Ezio said, staring out the port window.

"Ezio, later."

"OH come on, Jeeves! You've been acting awfully strange, even for yourself! What's going on?" Ezio protested.

"Ezio, I said drop it, we'll talk about it later." Jeeves said, looking over the flight journal, "Mixture up to 30%, and bring the RPMs down too fifty-six k."

"Jeeves, I'm not going to drop it. Your my friend, no matter how much older you are, and because you seem distracted, it makes me think you're worried."

Jeeves turned away, looking out his window.

"That's it? Seriously? I was taking a shot in the psychological dark!"

"Ezio, seriously, you might persist, but so will I. My past is my own."

"Jeeves, I –"

"EZIO!"

"Shit, what now? Can't we ever get a break? Jeeves, take the stick."

"Aye, sir."

Ezio climbed down the back hatch, and began too crouch run through the plane, which he saw that had been converted into living quarters mostly. There was even a small galley. Ezio reached the back of the plane where Quake was crawling out of the back turret hatch, Blaze helping him.

"What is it?" Ezio asked, looking at Spyro, whom had gone pale. He pointed out the hatch, at two rapidly closing dots. At first, Ezio didn't understand, but as the outlines of the objects came into view, he got the picture.

"Snap! All wings to stations get your elements ready! Do not aim to kill! Nova! You need to stay on the side that you see them. I'll try and shake them off; you confuse them, but don't kill them, whatever you do!" He said running back towards the cockpit.

"Jeeves prepare countermeasures, we might have to fend off missiles, and give me the stick damnit, I'll fly, you just optimize when needed." Ezio said, slamming himself into the seat and throwing his head phones on. As soon as they were on all the way, he heard a voice over the radio.

"Unknown craft identify yourself!" the pilot's voice said. About the time he finished, an F-22 soared over, followed by one more shortly after.

"This is B-17 Charlie one sixty-six four three alpha, on route to the south of France, over." Ezio turned around, and covering the mike, yelled back, "Don't shoot until I say so!"

Somewhere deep in the aircraft he heard Spyro shout over the engines, "Alpha squad, hold fire!"

There was a crackle on the radio, then, "B-17, we will escort you to Langley air force base, where you will land for inspection. If you fail to comply, we will use deadly force."

"Pilot, I do not intend to deviate from my current trajectory. Clear skies too you.", and with that, Ezio cut the connection off. Turning around, he yelled back at Spyro, "Leader, lock and load!"

"Get tactical Squad!"

Ezio heard several energy signatures charge up, and then shortly after, a radar lock.

"Jeeves, on my mark, release both chaff and flares. Be ready on the secondary rocket boosters."

"Aye, sir."

There were several seconds before the beeping of the radar warning jumped to an alarming rate, and increased in pitch.

"Open up!"

Ezio heard several twangs as the energy was released, and felt a couple shudders as the chaff and flares left the plane. Several seconds later, a missile shot below them, exploding prematurely. Even with the extra range between them, the craft lurched violently. He pushed the stick forward, sending the aircraft into a dive, pushing the throttle forward to its max.

"Come on! Move!"

A second warning sounded, this time a bit higher in pitch. The aircraft were growing closer at an alarming rate. The jets appeared above them, and Ezio heard the quick small explosions of the Vulcan cannons on the aircraft letting lose. A half second later, Ezio felt the shudder of the aircraft as the bullets peppered the hull.

"Anything? Any damage?"

"Nothing."

"Ezio, pull up or you're going to slam into the ground!"

Ezio yanked back and right on the stick, pulling the aircraft out of the dive about thirty feet above a lake. The engines were screaming by now, and the airspeed indicator read that the plane was moving at over five hundred miles an hour. Ezio saw a small valley to his left, and banked towards the hills.

"Oh come on! Ezio you can't – "

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do! Now hold on!"

Ezio could hear the scream of the Raptors turbines as they rounded a bend. He even heard the guns go off every so often, but felt no hits. Nova came up behind Ezio, holding onto whatever she could find to anchor herself.

"Ezio, throw it into a simian stall!

"A what?" Jeeves asked, confused, but Ezio reacted instantly, opening everything he could, flaring brakes, flaps slats spoilers, and reversing engine thrust. The Airspeed dropped from over five hundred and fifty, to one hundred in the span of a few seconds, making the airframe strain and groan, but otherwise it held. Nova was thrown forward into Ezio, while Jeeves went against the windshield, his face pressed hard against the glass.

The two raptors flung themselves overhead, and trapped in the mountain pass had nowhere to go but up.

"Nova! Cloak us now!"

"I can't keep you off the radar!"

"Just do it!"

Ezio dropped his altitude too twenty feet, then ten, with treetops lashing against the aircraft. One bough hit the starboard wing strait on, and with the force of the impact, ripped a shard of carbon fiber off, snapping in the process. Ezio flew so close to the canyon wall that they were stuck completely in shadow. Seeing a river bank ahead, Ezio lowered the gear. It was a bumpy landing, and Ezio had to skid the aircraft to get it to stop in time, but it did. Shutting the engines down, he flipped on the radio, and they all listened quietly.

"Ariel one, did you hit them?"

"Confirmed, I hit them with twenty mil rounds. I didn't think it was enough."

"It must have been, I don't have them on radar anymore."

"Yeah, luckily there are no residents down there. Command, it's your call."

"Make another pass, to confirm the kill."

"Roger, command. One more pass."

Ezio turned around, and saw Nova clenching her teeth in a feral, silent snarl. He could see light flowing from her, but it fell through the cracks to the outside of the plane.

"A little longer Nova."

"Come on, come on."

Silence passed for a bit, and then Ezio heard the roar of the jets. He peered upwards out of the window and saw the raptors pass not twenty feet overhead, moving slow. Finally…

"I think enemy has been handled, command."

"Roger that, Ariel one, you are ordered to RTB. Repete RTB."

"Roger that, Ariel two? Lets go."

Ezio heard the whine of the engine turbines fade into the distance. Everyone held their breath, and then, Blaze broke the silence.

"Goddamnit!"

All together, there was a collective sigh, and Nova collapsed on the floor, exhausted.

"Nova! Are you all right?"

Ezio went and picked Nova up, slinging her over his shoulders like he had the first time.

"Come on, Ezio, I'll be fine."

"Shut up, you're sleeping, now."

Ezio lay her down in a cot, and left Frost to attend to Nova while he went up and got the plane airborne again. Sitting down in his seat, he grabbed Cynders wingtip as she passed.

"Cynder, I need your help with getting this monster airborne again."

"How?"

"Your wind. I don't have enough room. After I get moving, I need you to pull wind over the wings. It won't be difficult, I just need some help."

"OK, got it."

The plane took off within twenty feet, surprising him a bit, but not enough to lose control. It seemed to almost float upwards. After about fifty feet of altitude, Ezio pushed the throttle forward all the way, and the plane gained forward momentum, enough to allow Cynder to let go.

"Thanks."

"My pleasure."

Ezio leaned back with a sigh. The day had barely started, and he was already worn out.

"I can't believe we made it." He said wearily, steering the plane out of the canyon, away from Langley air force base.

"We got lucky. Again." Jeeves said, adjusting the autopilot. The plane mechanically tilted towards the east coast, increasing its altitude. Jeeves had set it so that it would level off at ten thousand feet. High enough to be a normal private jet, but low enough to fly the aircraft manually.

"Somehow though, I get the feeling it's not over."

"It's never over, until you die."

"That's a comforting thought."


	8. Chapter 8

"Jeeves! Switch to manual flight control! No that switch! Now help me pull up! Pull up!"

Ezio yanked back on the control stick, fighting the forces holding it in place, they had lost pneumatics recently after they were attacked by French Rafael fighters. Now they had three state of the art jets on their tail that they couldn't shake. Jeeves was shouting at the top of his lungs, calling off the list of problems.

"Engine one is down, and engine two is leaking oil, soon to be down! We have several hull breaches, and the aileron and elevator hydraulics are down, rudder is fiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!"

The aircraft suddenly pitched upwards, and Blaze went flying past the cockpit as the ground fell out beneath him, Quake soon following him. Somewhere deep within the belly of the plane he heard Frost yell.

"Dammit Ezio! Hold it steady so I can get a decent shot in! It's hard enough to not kill them when you're flying level!"

Nova had been out cold for an hour, not even being able to lift her head anymore, because of pure exhaustion. They had been flying for three days now, hopping from airport to airport, grabbing fuel when they could and taking off just after they topped off the tank. The old war bomber was made too be long range, but with the addition of the turbo-prop engines, it guzzled fuel at an accelerated rate. Now they were running on fumes.

"Everyone hold on!" Ezio shouted as he punch the booster button for their last set of rockets and the aircraft streamed skywards, climbing to 50 thousand feet. Below them somewhere lay their destination, a series of caves in a narrow gorge too small for anything but foot traffic to get through. Ezio could just see the cracks in the landscape, spider webbing all over the place. Jeeves was perspiring a great amount, and Ezio could hear the charge and release of magical energy behind them as well as the pitch of jet turbines swell and fall as they maneuvered to avoid the fire coming from their plane. A warning lamp in the middle of the HUD lit up, indicating a radar lock.

"Two enemy locks on us, one acquiring. Warning, missile fired, short range, heat seeking."

Blaze fired two full vollies of twelve small flames out of the side too try and shake the missile off of them as a decoy. The missile went for it part way, but it exploded so close, Ezio saw fragments of steel fly past the canopy, and one even lodged quivering next to Jeeves's head. The explosion threw them all forward several feet, propelling them even higher. In his left ear, he could hear the second engine sputter and die, and the craft tilted to the left violently, Ezio fighting it by keeping his foot planted on the right rudder. The craft shook and hung in midair, the pure force of the thrust from the engines keeping it aloft.

"Jeeves, it's not going to make it! We gotta get out while we still can!"

In front of them, two jets whizzed by, both afterburners trailing on each craft, with a third flying by with sickly smoke trailing from its right exhaust.

"Hold the right rudder!" Turning around Ezio cupped his mouth and shouted as much as he could, "All passengers! Abandon ship!"

Blaze darted past, climbing and jumping his way up, shouting, "Eject! Eject! Eject!" and hurled himself out the side door, which had been ripped off. The rest of the squadron following, Eclipse slung across thunders back, with Nova across Cynders. She was just starting to wake up.

"Huh? Wuzzat?"

Ezio yanked Jeeves out of his seat, "Comeon Jeeves! On your feet! We are LEAVING! MEET ME HALFWAY DOWN!"

With that, Ezio threw a parachute to Jeeves, and hurled himself out the door without one, speeding up the bailout process. Shortly after he bailed, one of the fighter jets flew around and hit the canopy right in the center, where the pilot would have been. Ezio was far too busy to meet with Jeeves in midair too worry about it though. The wind howled in his ear, and even though Ezio had never sky dived before, instinct told him to spread his arms out and slow his decent. The ground was rushing up rapidly too meet him, and Jeeves, out of pure desperation, folded his arms flat and shot straight towards him. He overestimated his speed though, and shot past Ezio, clipping him on the way down, and sending him into a spin.

During his wild free-fall, Ezio thought he saw a bright golden flash, but didn't think anything of it until he felt a slight pressure, and his spinning stopped. It was then he saw Nova falling with him, slowly moving towards him, wings spread wide. Ezio gently positioned himself on her back, and she pulled out of the fall into a steep glide, locking her wings.

"Now we're even." She yelled back with a week smile. She angled towards the gorge, aiming for a small clearing of trees at the bottom of the tiny valley. Upon touch down, her feet collapsed from beneath her, and she rolled along the ground, Ezio bouncing along as well. When they stopped, Ezio rolled to his feet, dagger in hand. Nova just lay where she was, breathing hard. Ezio heard some crunching off too his right and he spun around. Cynder emerged from the trees.

"Good, I followed the right one then. Blaze is currently disposing of Jeeves parachute, and the rest are on their way." Ezio walked over to Nova, and with a great effort, hauled her onto his shoulders, her head lolling onto his back, and her wings dragging along the ground. After about half a minute of pent breath, Spyro emerged silently from the trees, with the rest of the dragons in tow, and Jeeves dragging his drogue chute with some supplies in it.

"Well now we're in trouble." Spyro said, rubbing his head. He started when he heard a large snapping sound. With the surrounding darkness, Eclipse and Cynder crept into the shadows, and Blaze blew fire from his maw, sending shadows dancing across the clearing. Ezio almost lunged forward when the dragon stepped forward into the light, if it hadn't been for his decorations and colors. The massive dragon was a pale grey, with a lantern hung around his neck, and pouches full of scrolls on his side. Ezio nearly did attack, even after the initial surprise of the dragon, but it was the reaction of everyone else that stopped him. Every dragon bowed, deep and low, even Eclipse forsook her cover, throwing herself into a low crouch. The only two who didn't bow were Spyro, and Cynder, whom stepped out of the light completely pale, which was saying something. What Spyro did was completely unexpected though. There was a half a second hesitation on his part, but then he ran forward, and hugged the dragon close, crying.

"Ignitus!" Spyro exclaimed, tears streaming from his eyes. What Cynder did almost made Ezio laugh.

"Ignitus? How the shit did you survive?!"

The dragon, Ignitus, laughed, although his voice sounded somewhat weary with age, "Young dragons will your wonders never stop? Cynder, I was appointed the chronicler, guardian of our age's secrets and stories, and I have waited many millennia for your arrival. Young guardians, you need not pay homage to me, rise. If anyone is too show respect, it should be I." He surprised them all by bowing low, crossing his arm over his chest as he did so, "Anyone whom places themselves in danger for the safety of others is always worthy of honor."

Quake was the first to speak, "Mighty Chronicler, why have you graced us with audience today? Your assistance has been nee-"

Quake was interrupted by a muffled squeak as Jeeves dropped his bags on the ground with a large thump. There was several seconds of silence, then –

"OI! LET MOI OUT! OI KNOW YOU HEARD THAT! WERES THE ZIPPOIR ON THIS THOING?"

Jeeves bent over and silently began unzipping and re-zipping pouches until he opened one and the tiny figure of Needlefoot fell out, and sprawled on the ground.

"You would not beloive how stuffy it was in thoir."

Ezio almost lost it hen, "It talks?"

"Oi should be soiin' the same too you bucko. Noice floiin' boiy the woiy."

Spyro was more than ticked off, "You stowed away?"

"Well you soid I should come and visit! Woi not now?!"

"Dang it Needlefoot, all you had to do was ask."

"Oi beg yoir forgivness lords and loidies. I'm not used to doin' soich things. Tis not hoiw I was raised. It's not like it hoid any disadvantages anywois. Except that I oit all that excellent food in thoir."

Jeeves rechecked the pouch, "Damnit, he's not joking. No more instant meals."

"Needlefoot! I'm slightly disappointed in you. Slightly." Cynder said, almost smiling, but suppressing it.

"Come now Cynder, were not far from ho - " Ignitus started, but stopped short, as he heard some shouting in the distance. The words were indecipherable.

"They've already started the search for us." Blaze said, looking over his shoulder. He quickly extinguished his flame, bathing them in darkness. Ezio felt Nova shudder on his shoulder.

"Ignitus, we can't do much more, we must retreat before they find us. They'll also be using infra-red goggles too search for us."

"I've got that covered." Ezio heard Frost say to his left, and the temperature suddenly dropped. Ezio felt the warm grass beneath his feet, but he also knew if they didn't get moving soon, they would freeze to death. He heard a quiet whistle, and suddenly, a dim red glow was seen, but it was so small, Ezio thought it was someone approaching from the trees. Not until a panthers face appeared through the low light did he relize who was holding it, and just how close they were.

The panther growled in a low voice, "You humans always are so queere."

"Then you've met one before."

"You're all different."

Ezio heard Spyro too his right in a whisper, "Meadow?!"

"A relative. A very distant relative. To the rest: follow us."

And the lantern in front of Ezio swiveled around the panthers hovering face, turning as he did. It began to move forward, and as Ezio walked, he listened for followers. He heard several more distant voices, and finally, a long shrill whistle in the distant, but besides that, saw nothing but the lantern in front of him. Finally, Ezio saw more yellow lights in the distance. He thought they were more allies until he realized it actually was in the distance. The lights soon formed into actual shapes, and the light cast from windows showed across a gap so small, only a few trees could fit in the area. The trees were so dense that unless he was following the felines exact orders on what ly ahead, he would have never made it through, even in the daylight. Caves were recessed into the cliff walls, and in the caves were small houses, built in to provide protection from the daytime heat and prying eyes. The glow was very faint, and at times Ezio failed to see any light at all, because of the density of the foliage.

"I've stepped into a different world." Ezio said too himself.

"And it's never going to be normal again." Jeeves commented behind him.

"Well, I wanted an adventure this summer, but I think I got more than I bargained for." Ezio laughed back. Soon, he heard many low voices, and saw varying species on the fringes of the lights. Some where panthers or other various designs of large cat. Many were moles or hedgehogs like Needlefoot, and they greeted him enthusiastically. Others had a faun like shape, and even more had very small bodies, not much bigger than your average rodent. Ezio saw a few humans as well, as he walked through the village, and they seemed almost jubilous to see him. Of dragons, he saw only three or four, but then they only had seen a quarter of the large village, which criss-crossed over their heads with connecting planks and bridges as well as having some buildings stretching over the gap.

"Spyro, Cynder, welcome to New Warfang, the largest establishment we have." A river ran along beside Ezio, and he saw many various species in the stream.

"Why are so many fish here?" Ezio enquired. The panther in front of him replied.

"This river connects directly too the ocean, but fish travel many leagues to get here because of the excellent food they can find along the bank. The dusky conditions are perfect for feeding and breeding grounds, so we never run out of food, since many carnivorous animals find this place a prime hunting ground as well, and many herbivore animals come here for a fresh source of water."

"Ezio, I'm sure you have many questions, but they must wait until later. Ah, there is Decibel now." Ignitus approached a young turquoise dragon in front of a massive tent which led to a large cavern. The dragon approached Ignitus eagerly, the quills on his neck and hips standing up. He had a cone like system running around his neck at the base of his skull made of the same quills, and on his tail there was a large double cone as a spade. When he spoke, his voice seemed louder than usual.

"Ignitus! What was that hunch you had? Did you find another group of wandering dragons again? Or was it som – " He stopped at the sight of Spyro and Cynder. And then his speaking redoubled in strength, "A purple dragon! Impossible! One has not been seen for over fifty thousand years! Ignitus, what does this mean? Is the prophecy at hand, or is this another farce? Whats going on, do you have any trajectories or hypothesi on the mat – "

"Decibel, enough."

Cynder leaned over to Spyro with a smirk on her face, and Ezio was just barely able too hear what she said, "Do you think he's related too Volteer?"

Spyro just chuckled, but Ignitus continued on, "Decibel, come with us, and in ancestors name, keep your voice down."

They continued on inside the tent, and found that there was still a tent inside of that one. Both entrances were draped open, and Ezio saw as he passed by each that they had double folds of fabric, with chain mail inside the fabric, too keep intruders from slicing through the tents. The command tent was guarded by two golden dragons, shining brightly in the light of the lanterns. Ignitus nodded to them both as he passed, "Photon, Beam." They simply nodded and slid aside, and the company entered the central tent. Rock walls flanked them on both sides covered by tent fabric. There was a large bookcase on each wall as well; containing what must have been ten thousand scrolls. Ignitus removed his bags, but kept the lantern around his neck. He nodded to Decibel, then spoke too Spyro and Cynder directly.

"Spyro, Cynder, I know you must have many questions on your mind, but now is not the time. You have done an excellent job of getting yourselves this far, but in doing so, you have worn yourself out, and you all must be very tired."

"You could say that." Ezio grunted underneath Nova's weight. Her two hundred plus pounds were really starting to weigh on him. Ignitus smiled,

"Ezio, I must thank you. I owe you my life for bringing Spyro and his companions this far without harming them, and you are eternally in my debt. Now then, you may have your choice of sleeping quarters, so long as it is open."

"Whatever is highest and closest to the center." Spyro said. Ignitus nodded to Decibel, and the dragon rushed forwards.

"Give them the grand viewing chambers. Ezio, and um, your name, sir?" Ignitus said, turning towards the man. Jeeves shuffled a bit, and without meeting the dragons eyes, spoke quietly, "Jeeves, oh great Chronicler."

Ignitus considered him for one long minute, until Ezio grunted again, and shifted Nova across his back some more,

"I'm sorry, forgive me, I was lost in thought. Where would you two like to stay?"

"With Spyro and the rest of Alpha Squadron." Ignitus considered him for a long moment, then sighed.

"Very well. It seems your friendship has grown strong." Blaze laughed,

"How can it not?" Frost gave him a sharp look, but Ignitus smiled, "Very true, Blaze. Decibel, show them too their rooms. Spyro, Decibel is a sound dragon, and is one of the more powerful members of our force. He shall be your guide for the extent of your stay. On your way out, send the Nighthawks in, including their leader, Luna."

"It shall be done, sir."

"Spyro, you may rest as long as you like, but I want to see you when you are ready. We have much to discuss."

"Ignitus, I am so happy to see you alive, I – "

"Spyro, I assure you, I am very happy to see you to, but do not hesitate and share sentiments now. Rest, all will be said later." Spyro seemed to hesitate, then smiled,

"OK, later then. I will be back though."

"I'm counting on it."

As soon as they were outside, Cynder squeeled surprising everyone, except Spyro.

"I can't believe it! He's alive Spyro!" she leened on his shoulder, and Spyro turned slightly red, but began walking. Eclipse smiled softly after them, but none of the dragons said anything.

"I know Cynder, I happy too, but right now, I'm more tired than happy. I need sleep." Cynder seemed slightly put out by Spyro's lack of enthusiasm, but continued on her way behind Spyro. Decibal spoke up, leading them to an elevator made out of many layers of wood and a pully system, with a counter weight near the tops of the cliffs.

"The highest rooms are made up of armories and war systems, so you won't be sleeping there. We do however have several luxurias rooms on the other side of the canyon that are built into the thinnest section of the wall. They have two doors, one leading to a wide balcony that overlooks a bay leading to the ocean, and one overlooking the village. All entrances are concealed by trees and foliage. You need not worry about any human presence for one hundred miles in any direction, as the gorges are impassable unless you know what you're doing or are decent at trail forging. The bay is not used, as the gorge leads right into the bay, and the beaches are covered by forest and massive boulders, and the bay has a very shallow draft, making it impassible by any accept the lightest boats. No one comes here, but still, watch yourself."

"We will do just that Decibel, thank you. How long have you been here?"

Decibel smiled, "All my life."

"Which is how long?"

Decibel smiled even wider, "I'm twenty three, though my power is much stronger than you might think. You've got too tell me, are you Spyro? The Spyro? Ignitus said your name, but I just wanted to be sure."

Blaze laughed, "Your talking to a legend dude, watch it."

Decibel sniffled, "Indeed."

Once the elevator had reached its second too highest level, Decibel walked off onto a large stout bridge spanning the chasm. He led them to a cave with a decent sized open tent, which acted as a porch. The area was recessed into a small alcove, and very private. He led them inside. There was a recreation area inside the cave, and also a small dining area with a low table. Behind those two rooms was a sleeping area. Decibel revealed that the floor had several bowls that the dragons could rest in when they needed them, but they covered up without any seems with flat pieces of stone. There were also fold out beds from the walls. In the back of the room, there was a wide entry way, with a balcony and another low table in the floor. The area was covered by trees growing from the sides of the cliff, but the trees also formed a ring which had a spectacular view of the ocean beyond. Spyro thanked Decibel, and he left promptly. Shortly after wards, many of the dragons plopped down in the cushioned bowls. Quake and Eclipse fell asleep instantly. Thunder went out too enjoy the view of the horizon, and Cynder and Spyro settled into their bowls, Spyro facing away from everyone. Jeeves folded a bed out from the wall, and while he set it up, muttering something about him not doing all the work for once, Ezio placed Nova down in a bowl next too Quakes, plopping down next to her on the floor when he was finished. He was exhausted and his back ached. He had a fairly huge headache as well. Nova had fallen asleep on his shoulder, but she had awaken now, only just barely.

"Ezio?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No than – "

"Just shut up and take it for what it is."

"It was my pleasure, Nova." Ezio said, smiling. Nova rolled over, and Ezio pushed himself into her bowl, rolling so his back was against hers.

Blaze murmured something akin to "Drama." But besides that, they were all quiet. Thunder returned and lay down next to Eclipse, laying his head on top of her exposed wing, and draping his own over her. Blaze extinguished the lamps in the room, throwing darkness over them, like a thick blanket.

All was silent except for the wind, the trees swaying in the wind, and in the distance, the ocean swelling with the waves and tides. Ezio heard some shuffling, and from the bowl, he saw Spyro get up, and low to the ground, silently moved over to Cynders sleeping spot, laying down next to her and draping a wing over her as well, and just before sleep engulfed him, Ezio could have sworn he saw Spyro lean over and kiss Cynder on the neck.


	9. Chapter 9

Ezio awoke to find himself in a low roomed, well lit, stone cavern, with the sun shining in his face from the open wall in front of him. On the balcony stood two figures, whom on inspection, was Spyro, watching the sunrise, with Cynder by his side. The two stood stock motionless, like sentinel statues, standing guard until the end of time. He could feel Nova on his back, her steady breathing matching her heart rate. Eclipse also lay in her bowl, though she was alone, her broken wing still stretched out in an awkward position. Ezio also saw several dark figures on the far side of the tent fabric, all of which were hunched over a lone table. Ezio got up, and with a closer look around their room, found that several simple clean well woven linens were on a small shelf by the door way. He also saw a small alcove in the tent wall, which was a tiny area that served as a wash house, including a toilet recessed into the wall, yet he saw no shower. Ezio dressed in the new clothes, and found that they were superbly made, very soft, and yet strong at the same time, but simple and utilitarian, so that no corners could snag. Whoever had left them seemed to have notice that Ezio liked cargo pants and baggy shirts, for when he put them on, could almost swear he had just walked into a department store and bought the best shirt and pants he could find in his favorite sizes.

Ezio was also impressed by how well built the entire dwelling was. The construction of the tent was very firm, and he found that the thing was made through a method of double curvature, where the tent was anchored by two points instead of one, and never flapped or billowed with the wind, only swayed ever so slightly. He also found that the wires inside the fabric folds were part of the construction, and the fabric was simply anchored to the wire mesh, creating a tent that would never tear, nor could be torn. He also finally discovered the showers while admiring the building. It was rather distasteful he thought, as the showers were a mass design, and there was no discretion of gender in the area.

"Hang on a second, there isn't a female human, and the dragons don't seem to bother with covering up, so I guess it doesn't really make a difference." It was almost funny to him, but he decided to suppress the laugh, as it would only bring him teasing from the squadron. Especially Blaze. Ezio tested a nozzle by running the water over his hand, and found that there was a large supply of water in both hot and cold, and it never got unbearable in either direction.

"Man, what kind of madness have I gotten myself into?" Ezio asked himself, running his hand through his hair as he walked out of the bathing chamber. Spyro and Cynder were still standing out on the porch. Neither had moved a single inch.

"Why am I here? I could just go back home. Dad wouldn't accept me into the house, but I and Jeeves could easily find plenty of work. The economy has improved greatly in the past few years, and jobs are easy to find now. Why do we not say, 'It was fun, luck with living and all that Jazz.'?" Ezio stared down at Nova sleeping while he pondered the question. He never even heard Jeeves sneaking up behind them.

"I won't go back." Ezio whirled around, the dagger drawn from his sheath before he realized who it was. Jeeves just stared hard at him.

"Why not?" Ezio asked, sheathing the blade in the holster strapped to his calf.

"Because, even though they might not be humans, they are still good people. And they have one big problem. No matter how long they live, unless someone helps them, they will never be safe from humans." Jeeves said, looking out at Spyro and Cynder, "You might want to go back to your boring old life. But I won't leave those who could use my help." He started to walk out to the balcony, but he paused, and looked back, a smile on his face, "Besides, this sounds like more fun than I have ever possibly dreamed of having, don't you think so?"

Jeeves walked out to stand next to Spyro. Spyro showed no signs of even knowing that Jeeves was there, he just continued to stare out into the distant sunrise. Ezio scratched his chin, deep in thought, then turned towards the recreation room. He passed over the threshold, and a sneering voice brought him back to reality.

"Ah sleeping beauty awakes. How was your night honey?" Blaze said, smiling over the bowl of pudding he was enjoying, spoon in his paw.

"Shut up. And how the heck do you know how too use a spoon? Come to think of it, you guys know a lot of stuff you shouldn't. Shoot, you guys know English!" Ezio said, sitting down and helping himself to a lemon poppy seed muffin. Whoever had made it was an excellent cook. His mother had always made lemon muffins before she had died, and it almost tasted exactly the same. The thought almost brought tears to his eyes, but he forced the thought away, and enjoyed his breakfast, and its delicious taste.

Quake answered the question from the far side of the table, his cheeks full with ripe fruit, "We knowth a loth of thing we thouldn', if you puth ith lith thath."

"Huh?" Ezio said, half confused by the earth dragons muffled words.

"What he means." Frost answered looking up from her yogurt, "Is that many of the things we developed, including our language, was passed onto humans when they arrived on earth. And what you're thinking of 'Arrived' isn't what I mean. Humans arrived by what some would consider an asteroid, but it was much bigger than that. Your ancient planet had been destroyed, quite similar to ours, and if I understand Needlefoot right, we felt pity for them, because we knew what they had been through. And we also found out how fast they multiplied. If you ask me, we made the wrong choice."

"Frost?" Thunder said in a low tone.

"Humans should have been whipped to extinction as soon as we saw them." There was a sharp collective intake of breath around the table, and Ezio growled in a low voice.

"And why do you say that?" Ezio challenged in a dangerous tone.

"Look around you. We dragons strive for existence at the edge of a crumbling society. And you know that if humans discovered us that would be it. We would be all dead; it would only be a matter of time. You humans seem to think that superior species as a plague on the earth, when you are the ones who are parasites!" Frost said, almost laughing at the look on Ezio's face. None of them noticed Blaze shrink back, his head dipping below the table, and his tail slithering out of sight.

"Perhaps it is the superior species that is a plague. Maybe their arrogance hides it from them." Ezio countered, and there was an outraged roar from the far end of the table, as Quake stood up. Thunder kept his peace, but his eyes narrowed maliciously.

"You dare say that we are the invaders!?" Frost said, pointing a claw at Ezio, in an almost drama like effect. Ezio would have laughed at the scene before him if he hadn't been threatened right now by three dangerous dragons. He might be able to take one if he were properly equipped, but against three with only a dagger? Impossible.

"No, I'm just saying that you're a hypocrite. You say that we cannot take another species? It seems like you can't either." Frost dropped her jaw at this statement, and Quake stopped himself, lowering into a half sitting position. Frost however, tensed herself. She was cornered, and she knew it.

_Careful Ezio. Even one could be a danger to you. Especially Frost._

Ezio noticed a very dark shadow behind the tent fabric, and he knew someone was listening in. Frost lowered herself to the ground, but Quakes voice brought her back from the edge.

"Frost, don't you dare! Spyro would kill you personally! He would treat it as if you had killed me!" Quake said, his deep baritone ringing throughout the room. Frost glanced at him, but relaxed, and spun on her toes, walking with a stiff back and her nose held high, as if they were all below her.

Ezio let out a long slow whistle, "I thought she really would kill me."

Blaze walked back in again, this time with Spyro in tow, but they both stopped in their tracks upon seeing Ezio eating his muffin with an air of amusement.

"What just happened?" Blaze asked, and Thunder burst out laughing, surprising them all.

"None of you get it?" all of them shook their heads except Ezio, and Thunder continued, "He played Frost at her own game. You didn't mean a single word of it did you?"

"Not a syllable. If I had, then I think you might have killed me yourself." Ezio said, smiling.

"Ezio acted as if he hated us, and Frost bought it. You certainly gave her something to think about. If you really thought about us like that, then I doubt you would have helped us at all." Thunder burst out laughing again, "All my years in the squadron, and I've never seen her so miffed. Spyro, if he gets out of this alive, then he deserves a medal, cause he cured Frost of her arrogance."

Spyro chuckled, "Cyril, the previous Ice Guardian was a bighead too. It only seems fitting that his successor should be as well. Even still, Cyril's was tolerable, but Frost's needs to be cured before she says the wrong thing. Ezio, if you get out of this, you will indeed be in my debt."

"I'm already in your debt, but I appreciate it." Spyro laughed at that, but nodded. Quake still looked a bit angry, and Blaze looked down right confused, but Spyro spoke up.

"Anyone who actually makes a threat against Ezio or any of his race will be considered an enemy of mine, and be treated as such."

"Well she never actually threatened me. She just greatly insulted the general human race." Ezio said, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Then she will get an earful." Spyro said, frowning. Blaze grimaced.

"Death by lecture. Tragic." Blaze said, looking at Quake, who rolled his eyes. Decibel shouted from the outside then.

"HAIL ALPHA SQUADRON!" He thundered, his voice echoing off the little alcove their dwelling was recessed into.

"Damnit! Nearly blew out my ears!" Blaze murmured, rubbing at his skull. Ezio heard Nova wake up, screaming.

"Oh my god! They dropped the bombs!" and then Eclipse woke with a slight scream, being woken by Nova's exclamations. Nova ripped through the flap seconds later, and brought her tail point up to Decibels throat, quivering at the spot under his chin.

"Nova!" Ezio tackled her to the ground. When Nova still struggled, with Blaze laughing his head off at the side, Ezio grabbed Nova by the horn, and brought his fist down on Nova's head, pistol whipping her into sub-consciousness. Blaze was still chuckling to himself as Ezio grabbed a small pitcher on the table and dumped the water out on the dragoness's head.

"Huh? OW! Why does my head hurt so much?" Nova said, rubbing the back of her skull. Blaze went into hysterics again.

"Wh – who dropped the bombs, Nova?" he laughed.

"Wha? How could you possibly know what I was dreaming?" Nova said, rubbing her head as Ezio knelt down beside her and checked the contact point. There was a little purple bruise, but nothing more.

"Because you went into hysterics and acted as if decibel here was the bomb." Blaze acted as if he was crest fallen.

"Awe, but I thought I was da bomb." And Quake actually laughed this time, with Spyro joining in.

"I'm assuming Nova, that I might have been too loud."

"You could say that again." Blaze smirked.

"Well if you want, I could – "

"NO!" they answered in unison.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the tent was a flurry of activity. Decibels first question had been whether they were ready for an audience with Ignitus. When Spyro had mentioned that some of them had broken limbs and wished to recover, Decibel had grabbed a medic and attended to their injuries immediately. It seemed as if Eclipse had settled down at least, and the rest of the dragons all seemed to finally be at ease. Decibel had also mentioned a tour through the village, although what was considered to be a village was now starting to grow into a city, from what Ezio heard.

"How many inhabitants are there?" He asked out of curiosity. Decibel answered enthusiastically, he seemed to enjoy his job, and he knew a ton about the city itself, seeing as he had lived there all his life.

"Over thirty thousand. But most of them live throughout the gorge system. Our city stretches for many miles, and we are not the only one of our type. Too the far east is the grand city of New Hvadia one of the old ancient cities, which is almost as old as Warfang. And to the far west is the city of New Ascari, which is newer than Warfang, but has just as much history. By tradition, the largest city is named Warfang, although that's only according to Ignitus. Our city is in the lead by over three thousand now, which may not seem like a lot, but it's a huge amount in our terms. New Hvadia is led by Volteer's ancestor, whom goes by the name of Nobel. He is a very powerful electrical dragon, and has led us to victory in many fine battles. His tactical knowledge is even greater than Ignitus's. New Ascari is led by one of Terrador's mighty ancestors, whom goes by the name of Goliath. He is indeed a monster of a dragon, easily towering over two stories in height." Decibel finished his lengthy tail, gesturing for the other dragons to follow him. They all squinted as the early morning sun shown in their eyes.

"Holy shamoly! That's a big ass dragon!" Blaze said. Decibel sniffed, but didn't comment. Spyro seemed lost in thought though.

"I had no idea that the Guardians had had mates at one point." Spyro said, drawing abreast of Decibel. The grey dragon nodded.

"All except Ignitus. It was customary for dragons too stay part of the Guardianship for a set amount of time, after which they could leave, and raise a family, or stay with the current course, and raise a new generation. If there were no dragons in the Guardianship at the time, then the Chronicler would train them. However, in ancient days, before the wars with Malefor, it was customary to have many different guardians, one for each element. The four main ones you know are a very small portion. You have proved this with the elements of shadow and light. I am also living proof, as my great grandfather was the grandson of the last Audio Guardian. His name was Shockwave. But he was killed in the planetary wide destruction. Besides Terrador and Volteer, Cyril also had a child, whom is with us today." Decibel peered back at Frost, whom snapped out of her quiet contemplation. She gave an Icy cold stare and dived back into her thoughts.

"Frost is the daughter of a guardian?" Eclipse whispered to Spyro. Spyro only nodded ever so slightly. Eclipse muttered something along the lines of 'Kinda fits' but didn't say anything else. Decibel showed them many sights in New Warfang, including the great library the moles had dug underground and the massive stargazer pavilion they had built as well, for astral sightseeing. The telescope there was the largest he had ever heard of. Decibels voice echoed off the chamber walls as he spoke.

"Over 82 feet across each lens. Because of the magical properties Ignitus himself imbued in it, it adjusts automatically for the refraction of the atmosphere. And it can see as far as 800 billion light years, which is insanely good for an earth bound telescope." Decibel commented. Ezio couldn't wait to get some snapshots of far off galaxies that were just going through the very first stages of life.

When lunch time came around, the dragons ate in a large pavilion. Decibel proved that his mouth was good for more than talking, as he ate twice as much as any of the dragons. All the while, many creatures came forward and greeted them. Some were friendly, and some were not. One dragon even came up and greeted Spyro and Cynder, but when Blaze asked him who he was, the dragon point blank refused to say anything too him. His coloration was different than most dragons, being a bright sickly acid green, with black stripes running down his legs and the spine of his back. The frills on his neck and hips where the same color as the stripes, but they had perfect holes in them, as if there was something bubbling up from his body. His tail spade consisted of the same type of frills, although on closer inspection, when he took off, all the frills, including his tail spade remained rigid, and Ezio realized they were stiffened. Before he left however, the dragon may have been rude to the other guardians, but he had been downright mean to Ezio and Jeeves. He had slapped the both of them upside the head, but when Spyro jumped up and challenged him about it, he simply said in a sickly smooth voice, almost as if sludge were flowing, "I didn't see the monkey's, my bad." And then he flew away. Ezio almost preferred Frost over this dragon.

"I apologize for Hydro's behavior. You can't blame him though. He was mistreated by the Russian government for a number of years." Decibel said, ushering Spyro to sit back down, "Some humans accept us, while others can be downright nasty. Especially some of the governments, they think of us as visitors from another planet, and they run experiments whenever they get the chance.

"Lousy untruthful greedy creeps!" Ezio said under his breath. Frost gave him a strange look, but said nothing else.

As far as Ezio was concerned, his day had been excellent, even with the rudeness. He could take insults, so in his book, it was a good day. The weather was warm and his stomach was full, and for the time being, he could stop running, and had a minimal amount of things to worry about. He slept next too Nova again that night, his back against hers and the sounds of the ocean lulling him to sleep.

* * *

Ezio felt movement in the bowl, and opened his eyes a crack, expecting blinding sunlight again. All he saw was a bright moon over a calm glassy ocean in the background, and one lone figure out on the balcony. Nova stood there, her golden body in stark contrast to the night time sky. Ezio got up, rubbing sleep from his eyes and went out to join her. He leaned up against the rail next to her, and spoke softly.

"So what was that whole ordeal this morning?" Ezio inquired, looking back into the dark room.

"Hmm? What'r you talking about?" Nova asked, looking in his direction.

"Nova, I haven't known you for long, but even still, I know you more than any of the other dragons. And the fact that I was the one to rescue you, and I called your bluff that night means that I know when you're lying to me. You are so convincing at it, but whenever I get the feeling that your so convincing that it's without a doubt true is when I know your lying to me, cause your just that damn good. Now what's bothering you?" Ezio said, looking at her. She turned back to the ocean, peering at him out of the corner of her eye.

"You got me. Ezio, I'm sure Eclipse has told you some of the stories of our squadron correct?" Nova said solemnly.

"Of course, ever member has a story. But it always seems to be sad." Ezio said, scratching his chin.

"She knows everyone's story except mine, and she's got the truth right, more or less. However, she doesn't know mine, because you're right, I'm just that damn good. Ezio, we all have stories. Even Spyro and Cynder, though they have each other. Shoot everyone has someone. Eclipse has Thunder, whom she can read exceedingly well, even though he's tough to read for the rest of us. Quake and Blaze have each other as friends, because of their exceedingly different personalities."

"What about Frost?" Ezio said, looking at the blue dragoness in her sleep. Despite the hatred towards him, he knew it was magnified by Frost's icy personality. She really did hate his race, but he had a sneaking suspicion that she didn't hate him as a person. He genuinely felt concern for her.

"She has herself. Frost has learned to cope with life as a lone wolf, and even though she is part of the Squadron, she still prefers to work alone. It is her choice though, and even though we all know she needs someone, she is happy where she is. And I get the feeling that Blaze and Quake would redily support her if she ever needed it."

"I find that hard to believe."

"She has hardened her exterior shell. Ezio, if you truly knew her, then you'll know when she gets angry. And you'll also know when she is content, because she will talk far more. Let her go for now. She'll come 'round later, I promise, and I get the feeling she will be far less hostile."

"OK, so what about you?"

"I'm a damn good liar."

"OK, so what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means what you get on the outside isn't what you would see on the inside."

And with that, the light dragoness took off into the night, her brilliant colors fading as the shadows enveloped her. Before long, Ezio was alone on the porch, staring out after her.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that she has no one." Spyro came up behind him, "Sorry, was thirsty."

"For what? Cynder, or some water."

"You're going a bit far, Ezio." Ezio was silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry you're right. I guess I have a bit more too worry about than I thought. My mind is a bit confused right now. What do you mean by she has no one?" Ezio asked. Spyro titlted his head back and coughed, shooting an ice spike straight up in the air. It flew up, hung for a moment, then fell back down along its original flight path. Spyro waited till it was within range, then quietly breathed a stream of fire over it, melting it in midair, and then stretch his mouth wide, opening his throat to allow the water mass to slide right down.

"OK, I'm sorry, but that is kinda cool." Ezio commented. Spyro grinned rather sheepishly.

"She has no one, as in no one is there to support her. Ezio, she is one of the few people who knows the right thing to say in almost every situation. However, when she needs some support herself, no one, ever is there for her. Any of us would be glad to help, but we can't. She won't let us into her past. I know of it, but that's only out of necessity, and I won't even speak of it until she gives me permission. What she needs right now is a friend to be there for her. Not someone to pry into her life, but to just say, 'I don't care who you are, or what's happened in your life, I'm just a friend for you, and I'm here for you when you need me.' That kind of friend. Not someone to ask why do you feel so bad?"

"I didn't know. Why not one of you though. You've known her far longer than I have." Ezio said, picking up a water pitcher on the table and consuming the liquid the normal way.

"We've known Nova the solar guardian not Nova the young Dragoness with a painful history. You seem to know the most about her, despite the fact that you only have known her for three weeks. Shoot, you've gotten her too smile!" Spyro exclaimed, pacing along the deck.

"Wait you never saw Nova smile before you came to this age?" Ezio asked, skeptical.

"Never."

"Didn't you think something was funny?" Ezio said.

"I knew something was funny! I'm not only the right person to say anything about it, but I also don't know what to say! Besides, she was the one that helped with Cynder the most." Spyro said, hanging his head, "We had other things to worry about anyways, like staying alive. The few weeks before planetary destruction, we had been fighting constantly, and I do mean constantly. All three cities were under siege, with no end in sight. Then all of a sudden, the planet begins to crack apart from one of Malefor's attacks, and we knew then that most of the planet was dead. So we ran, hoping to fight another day. Malefor caught up to us while we were escaping, and Nova fought him. The moment you found Nova on the side of the road, and held her body in your hands was the moment our planet was destroyed. There's a reason for this though, something that has to do with the purple dragon I'm sure. But right now isn't the time to worry about it."

"What happened with Cynder?"

"The one she loved betrayed her and left her. He hurt her more than any physical wound could. She nearly committed suicide, though I only found out just recently. Nova was the one who kept her from doing so. I owe her everything."

"Hmm, I'd like to get my hands on the one who hurt her so. No dragon should be made to suffer like that."

"Oh , trust me Ezio, I'd like to punish the wrongdoer as well, but he did what he did to keep her safe. He found out later that it didn't work so well, and he has made amends."

"Wait, I thought almost everyone died?"

"Ummm." Spyro looked a bit awkward.

"No way! It was you? OF course! Why didn't I see it? It was that rule, wasn't it? Something about not carrying out a relationship, because of focus on the battlefield?" Ezio's eyes widened.

"Yes, it was me." Spyro sighed, "You see now why I say I'm not the right one. I nearly killed the one I loved, what would I do to a person I know nothing about?" Spyro said, rubbing his temple, "Also, we see the effect that that rule has had on the squadron." Spyro peered inside the pavilion at Eclipse and Thunder, who was again curled around each other, thunders muscles raising and falling in tempo with his breathing.

"What are you going to do about the rule?"

"Well I can't revoke it, for fear of looking selfish. I can however, work around it. I'm thinking up a plan, but it's taking a bit. We should know in a few weeks what happens, when I make an announcement."

"OK, so why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Ezio, I trust you. Not only that, but if anyone can console Nova, it's you. She has had a very rough past, and the last thing she needs is someone bringing it up again. She'll talk about it soon, but she'll do so when she feels ready. In the meantime, what I think she needs is someone to just be her friend. Least I can figure out that much."

"I shall do my best, Spyro. I'm honored that you trust me so." Ezio said, turning back to the ocean.

"Thank you, Ezio. That's all I ask." Spyro turned back to go inside.

Ezio stood at the rail for a moment, before turning back to the darkened room and whispering.

"Spyro?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm gonna go and see her now."

"Be careful."

And with that, Ezio grabbed his sandals and slipped into the shadows of the wall, quietly padding along.


	10. Chapter 10

"You couldn't just leave me alone, could you?" Nova said as Ezio padded up beside her.

"Not unless you want to be alone." Ezio replied, standing behind her. In front of Nova, waves pounded across the beach and spray hit Ezio's face, even from where he was standing. About twenty yards behind him stood the forest, Tall and peaceful in the night air. The moon showed bright on the surface of the earth, casting Nova in a ghostly hue, and making the sand seem absolutely white. It occurred to Ezio that he had no idea what the time was. He smiled at the absurdity of the thought.

"I do, Ezio." Nova said quietly.

"OK, but Nova, know one thing: I'm always here for you. As a friend. And if you ever need a shoulder, mine is open for you to use." Ezio said, turning back and beginning his trek back to the cave. He hadn't walked more than ten feet before Nova called to him.

"Ezio! Wait! Don't leave. I don't want to be alone." Ezio walked up beside her, and leaned against her fore arm, letting his heals dig into the sand.

Before Ezio knew what happened, Nova had turned and had her head over his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably, yet silently into his back, making his shirt go soggy very quickly.

"Nova, what - ?"

"I-I've been alone for so long. N-N-No friends or family. N-No home. Thank you so much for being here. Y-You couldn't possibly understand what it m-means to me." Nova whispered between sobs. Ezio's shirt was really starting to get weighed down with salty tears.

"Hang on a second Nova." Ezio stepped out from under her and grabbed the bottom of his shirt, ripping it over his head, and throwing it aside. Nova went a bit wide eyed, but Ezio just hugged her again, and she began to cry with renewed vigor, tears now rolling down Ezio's back and into the sand.

"I don't want to be alone anymore Ezio. I don't think I could stand another second of it." She said into the back of his head. Ezio found himself crying too. Having a friend with sorrow had always been tough for him, but he didn't expect it to hurt this much.

After a while, Nova's crying eased. Ezio held her by both shoulders, looking up into her face.

"Nova, I'm always here for you, no matter what. If I had to crawl to the ends of the earth to help you I would. If I had to suffer ten thousand lashes by a whip, I would, just for you. If I had to kill my own father for you, I would do it!" Nova chuckled at that, "Just know that I'll always be there for you, no matter what you need, ok?"

Nova nodded, and they walked back up the beach together, towards the settlement, Ezio's hand on her shoulder.

* * *

The next day, or later that morning, which ever it was, Ezio was awakened by Nova nudging him in the bowl.

"Get up, sleepy head, were going to go and see Ignitus now! Come on, get a shirt on, grab some lunch!"

Ezio rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked up at her. She was smiling again, so she must have been feeling much better.

"What time is it?"

"About noon."

"WHAT?" Ezio whipped around to see the giant illuminated numbers on the wall from the projection time clock. It read 7:23 am. Nova began laughing like no tomorrow.

"Hahahaha! You fell for it! Sucker!" Ezio threw his pillow at her and jumped out of the bowl as Nova caught it and hurled it back at him. Ezio dodged, and laughing, left it where it was and grabbed a clean shirt from the table, throwing it over his head. He grabbed a fresh apple out of the bowl on the kitchen table before walking outside with his hand on Nova's shoulder again. He enjoyed feeling her warm skin beneath his hands. The rest of the squadron was waiting for them. Frost gave him his usual look of disdain, but Spyro smiled at him warmly, seeing his hand on Nova's shoulder.

"Come, we have much to talk about. Now are you sure you're ready?" Decibel was with them again, and he looked back at Eclipse with worry, because of her still bandaged wing. Eclipse just nodded at him.

"I'll be fine, Decibel." She said in her velvety voice. Thunder nudged her slightly to the side and gave her his normal look, but she just bounced her hips off his stomach, stopping the electrical guardian in his tracks. He almost looked thunderstruck, and Ezio smiled at the Irony of the phrase, but Thunder quickly recovered and hurried to catch up.

As they entered the massive tent Ignitus called home, the former fire guardian set down a scroll he was reading. His pail grey skin shown like diamonds with the light coming from outside, and his lantern that hung around his neck rattled slightly, almost seemingly of its own accord. Jeeves was there too, which surprised Ezio.

"No no, I'm not here too - ." He stopped at the sight of Ezio. Ignitus looked between him and the butler, and then gave a sigh.

"Jeeves, now would probably be a good time. They at least deserve to know. Especially Jacob."

"Please, Ignitus, call me Ez – "

"Jacob, I prefer to call people by their rightful names, which is why I never refer to Malefor as the Dark Master. His rightful name is Malefor. That is what society has known him by for countless generations, and I will not refer to some self-appointed title, nor will I use names made up for screen time."

Ezio shut his mouth, but Jeeves protested violently.

"Ignitus, how could I possibly tell them? I don't even know where to begin!"

"Start with the war." Ignitus suggested. Spyro spoke up, curious.

"Jeeves, tell us what?"

Jeeves sighed, "Spyro, my name isn't Jeeves. That is my alias. My real name is Sprite. Fifty thousand years ago, during the second war, I was kidnapped by Malefor's Shadow Forces. I was brought directly to him. At that time, I was not the human you see now, but a black dragon, gifted in the use of the shadow element."

Spyro began realizing what was going on, as did several members of Alpha squadron, including Frost and Quake. Cynder was beyond herself.

"A Shadow Force lieutenant! Spyro, orders?" Cynder said, stepping backwards and taking a wider stance.

Spyro tensed a bit, but didn't move, and at that moment, Ezio felt an extreme pain under the hand that was on Nova's shoulder, as her element ripped from her body. Blaze and Nova sprang in front of Jeeves protecting him, while Frost and Cynder spread their wings. Eclipse turned tail and ran, grabbing the two guards and hurrying back inside, the two golden dragons crouching low, should any violence erupt. Quake seemed confused at Blaze taking the opposite side, and Thunder just seemed stunned. Decibel put an end to it all. His roar nearly shattered Ezio's eardrums as the shockwave flew throughout the tent. Outside, several of the settlements inhabitants stopped to listen afraid the sound might be a signal of an impending attack, while in the distance a large flock of birds took flight at the noise.

"Enough! No one in this room is an enemy!" Ignitus ordered, giving Spyro a stern look. Spyro stood still, like a statue, but didn't release his tension. He jerked his head and motioned for the exposed shadow dragon to continue. Jeeves looked like his mouth wouldn't work, so Ezio poked him in the ribs.

"Um, yes, your right, I was in the Shadow force for many years. It wasn't my fault though, I was ordered to do his bidding. Of course I didn't want to, but I had no choice. It's like someone was holding a blade to my throat and threatening me constantly. If I didn't know what to do, the spell would always force me to take the most violent path: kill everything. After the war, after planet destruction, Malefor protected us and himself against the forces of nature for five years. During that period, his hold on us was weakened, but the power he gave us remained. I was able to escape, one of the few. For a while, I just wondered aimlessly through the wilderness, living however I could, and hiding from Malefor's rampant forces. Then came apocalypse number two. A chunk of the second moon came crashing down to the planet. Somehow, humans had gotten on there, we don't know how, but they did. And at the point humans set foot on the planet, I became one of them. Malefor's power transformed me, of this I have no doubt. I don't even know the specifics of my transformation, but I have lived among humans ever since. I think that was Malefor's original plan, for us to blend in with the dominant species, and walk among them without the humans going berserk with fear. Spyro, I'm not your enemy. If anything, I'm your ally. Four hundred years ago, I discovered many humans that were former shadow force lieutenants. We all retain our powers, but our body simply changes. At the point I discovered the lieutenant, I drove a blade through his throat, and ended his life, and since then I have hunted Malefor's agents of destruction and destroyed them, one by one. My newest target, for fifty years now, has been – "

"Smaug!" Ezio exclaimed, "He was one of them, wasn't he? He's the only one that makes sense!"

Jeeves nodded.

"Holy crap, I was in the presence of a supernatural being. And I had no idea! He could easily have found out about Alpha Squadron! How could he not have known?" Ezio said. "Course, come to think of it, he really would have paid for that secret of mine. Guess now I know to kill him if I ever see him again." Jeeves cut off his next sentence.

"In my time, I was Malefor's commander of the Shadow Forces in the field. Now that duty has fallen to Smaug. He supplies the shadow forces by running the largest drug cartel on the planet, and quite possibly, the one that is known the least." Jeeves finished.

Spyro had gone pale, "Malefor, he still lives?"

Ignitus sighed, "I'm afraid so Spyro. Malefor indeed still lives, but he has receded for now. We do not know where he went underground, and we have searched for him diligently, but even if we did find him, that's as far as we would get. Even with every dragon on the planet, we could not possibly destroy Malefor. So we have also gone underground, to protect our numbers. We know Malefor is watching us, and waiting for your return Spyro. Right now, it is not a question of 'if' he will strike, but 'when'."

"Shit!" Ezio swore, "How the hell are we supposed to fight him, then? He's already survived every last thing we could throw at him! The most we might have done is blinded him! And that's in doubt! What the hell are we supposed to do?"

"There was a legend that once foretold of the most powerful being destroying Malefor in open combat, or at least having the power to do so. I happen to think this being is Spyro, no doubt in my mind. The prophecy just has yet to come true."

"So what is our current plan then?" Cynder asked. Sitting down next to Spyro.

"We wait for him to strike first, but not unwisely so. I have plans to build increased fortifications around the settlement, so that when the shadow forces attack, we have a better way to defend ourselves." Ignitus said, pulling out a scroll and laying it down on the floor to study it. The blueprints were huge, dissecting the small city into sections, and fortifying each one with stone walls. Built on the defenses as well were massive cannons, made specifically for long rangebombardment. The whole thing was quite impressive, even if it was primitive.

"Ignitus, I doubt this will stop Malefor. It would barely slow him down." Spyro said, looking over the plans.

"I do not plan on it doing so. In fact, I do not even see him leaving the safety of his lair unless he felt secure. However, it has been fifty thousand years sense we last saw him. I doubt he is the same dragon I used to know." Ignitus said, looking at Spyro, and then peering out the tent entrance. Outside, the sun bore down hard on the landscape of southern France. Today was supposed to be a real scorcher, with temperatures reaching over one hundred.

"However, if he does appear, we will be counting on you and Cynder to hold him off long enough for us to evacuate. Hopefully he will only be hell bent on destroying you two."

"Ignitus, you fill me with real confidence, did I ever tell you that?" Blaze said, and the old fire breather laughed. Spyro spoke up again.

"Ignitus, if I could, I would like to send out the word that we are looking for members for Alpha Squadron. Tell them that if they think themselves powerful and worthy enough, to come to our dwelling an hour before sundown, and we will test them." Ignitus nodded.

"You certainly could use the additional strength in your force, Spyro. Do you have any questions?" Ignitus asked, looking at the different dragons. When none answered, he continued.

"You will be preparing for the coming onslaught in different ways, all helping throughout the village. Don't worry about staying busy; we have more than enough work for you." Ignitus said smiling. He sent Spyro and Cynder off to the west, to help the earth dragons build a new main gate. Cynder was going to act as lookout, and send any information she had to Decibel in Ignitus's tent. Thunder and Eclipse went off towards the east to help electrify an early warning perimeter to tell the settlement of any forces coming by land or sea. Eclipse was going to act in Cynders stead as the early warning lookout. Quake and blaze were sent to the barracks to help organize supplies and see what kind of equipment was needed. Frost and Nova were going to run combat air patrols after Frost checked out the medical station in New Warfang, to see if everything was up to par, and Nova was heading up with Blaze and Quake, to check on the communications network, which worked by a series of lights and mirrors.

Nova looked kind of crest fallen because she had to leave Ezio, but Ezio took her head in both his hand and touched his forehead to hers.

"Come on Nova, I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here."

"You promised, don't forget that." She replied, smiling.

"You'd never let me anyways. I'll see you tonight girl."

Nova took off then, following Blaze and Quake. Ezio turned around and faced Ignitus. What of me and Jeeves?

"My name isn't Jeeves, damnit."

"I've known you as Jeeves for fifteen years. I'm not going to stop calling you that any time soon. And Ignitus, calling someone by a nickname is done by damn near everyone, so you might as well call me Ezio. It's more personal that way anyways." Ezio said.

The fire breather considered him till Ezio shifted his feet under the ancient dragons stair, and then he spoke, "I think you will help the dragons in various ways, Ezio. Your first assignment will be to accompany Nova on her combat air patrols. Get the sniper rifle that you brought, and use it as your eyes. I will have something different for you each day, so don't expect this tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. What of Jeeves?"

"My name isn - !"

"Shut up."

"Unfortunately, I cannot trust Jeeves just yet. He is neither ally nor enemy. If this were fifty thousand years ago, then I would have said different, because Cynder was under the same circumstances. However, we have to be much more cautious today, because a spy could be anywhere. Jeeves, we will not imprison you, but we will keep you from helping us in any way, as well as leaving the settlement. If you prove yourself worthy, then in time, we will let you in on bigger things." Ignitus said.

"I completely understand. I think I will visit the library then. There are many things there I want to look through." Jeeves said, sweeping the entrance flap aside. Ezio followed him, but as soon as they were outside, Jeeves pulled him aside.

"Ezio, I trust you with my life, and even though I've lied to you for fifteen years, I hope you can find it to forgive me."

"Of course Jeeves I – "

"My name isn't – OH never mind. Jeeves it is."

"I don't think you're dangerous, as you could have done something to us at any given point in time. I trust you with my life old friend."

With that Jeeves smiled, patted him on the back and continued, "These people are good people. But I have a bad feeling about them. Do the wrong thing, and someone might end up slitting your throat in your sleep. We even have enemies within Alpha Squadron! We need to tread lightly here. This is more politics than anything, create the wrong friends or enemies and it could be deadly."

Ezio tried to read further into his doomsday speech, but instead of that, he decided to see what had led him to the conclusion, "What do you think of Ignitus?"

Ezio stopped and looked up at the sky, "Ignitus is a good old dragon, who has a whole heart. He would never kill someone unless they had first killed, or if it were Malefor himself. But he's not the one to worry about. Not everyone here likes us, and I'm willing to bet that someone here would willingly wield the blade that takes our life. Do not wake up with a piece of steel lodged in your throat, Ezio. I would hate to see that happen to my best friend!"

"OK Jeeves, I'll watch my back. You be careful too, ok?"

"I have already taken precautions, and so have you in a way. It's not a bad deal sleeping in a dragons bed, but be careful that you don't get to close, else it might be the one to kill you."

"Nova would never do that!" Ezio said firmly, "I know that for sure."

Jeeves stared at him for a bit then sighed, "Your right. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I think we first have to prove ourselves great allies before we can rest in peace. I wouldn't hold my breath, even then."

"OK, I'll watch my back at all times. You be careful to eh?"

Jeeves smiled, "I will do my best."

Jeeves walked off then, in the direction of the cave, while Ezio ascended the complex, marveling at the different building designs. Many different types of children ran about, squealing with delight as they played a game, nocking a ball about with a stick they had found and smoothed out. He marveled at the fact that some were dragons, while others where humans and still others were felines, and he even saw a couple of the faun like creatures in there, though they seemed young.

Ezio spied Nova across the canyon. She was arguing heatedly to one of the faun like creatures. As he drew closer, he heard the subject of their cacophony.

"I'm telling you, it's not aligned right! Just test it out for yourself! I don't care how curved the lense is, light travels in a straight line! Course unless I'm wielding it." Nova argued to the creature. It was shorter than Ezio, about five feet in height.

"Oh, so you're going to tell me that my master craftsman made a mistake?" Answered the creature in a gruff voice, chewing on a piece of grass as it spoke.

"No, only that you made a mistake putting it in place." Nova rebuttled. She was starting to get kinda angry.

"I'd listen to her dude. She's not the one to hold back when she gets angry." Ezio said off to the side. Nova's head whipped around, and she pounced on Ezio, glee shining on her face. Ezio completely collapsed beneath her weight.

"I would have said glomp, but there wasn't enough time" She said, while hugging him.

"Um, Nova?"

"When you two are quite done." The faun said, tapping his hoof impatiently.

"Of course, Ezio, this is meadow, leader of his tribe, who call themselves the Atlawa. Unfortunately, they also run the coms network." Nova said, pushing a small clear dish up a couple notches, "There, meadow, I swear if you move it again, I will kill you myself."

Nova then turned and fused the joints in place with her element, using a high intensity laser to wield the metal. She turned to Ezio when she was finished.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything – "

"Obviously."

" – But what are you doing here Ezio?"

"Ignitus told me to accompany you on your combat air patrol today. He said I could use the experience of fighting from dragonback, as I'm likely to do so when Malefor attacks. He still wants to get me into a human fighting division, but for now, I'm still working with Alpha squadron."

Nova smiled at these words, then let off several bright flashes, both long and short. Ezio knew it was Morse code, but he had no idea what it said.

"It was just a test phrase."

Several seconds later, a series of flashes erupted from the dish, and continued on down the line. The other posts responded as well, all the way into the distance. Nova nodded her head in satisfaction.

"That should do it. Meadow, I want you to fix all the ones that can be stationary, and make them so, I don't care how much you like having choices. They need to work when we need them. Four more posts also need to be developed, somewhere in the trees far off in each cardinal direction. Use short range closed circuit cameras for their viewing, so that if we are attacked, we will know it. This is your most important task." Nova said, crouching low, so Ezio could climb on. Despite her weight, she was very large, especially when her wings stretched outwards. Her wingspan reached almost fifteen feet when relaxed, so when Ezio saw her wings go to twenty feet, then twenty five feet wide, his eyes went about as wide as her wings.

Ezio wasn't prepared for the initial launch, so when the ground suddenly disappeared, and he was slammed backwards, he nearly fell off. However, to prevent such things happening, he had wedged his feet under Nova's forelegs, which she did not use while in flight. Nova soared low over the landscape, and reached the armory in a matter of seconds. There Blaze and Quake were overlooking some of the tiniest sentient creatures Ezio had ever seen. He remembered Needlefoot mentioning them once, being called the Manweresmalls. It was a mouthful, and a ridiculous name, but it fit well. Needlefoot was among them as well, examining a large sword that he had been brought.

"Oit is an oincient devoice, made by a master smith. Where did you get this?"

One of the manweresmalls answered, "It was given to us by a feline tribe. They said it belonged to one of their greatest warriors ever, who went by the name of Hunter." The tiny creature squeaked. When Nova landed, Ezio walked over to the giant hedgehog, and held out his hand.

"If I may. My dad did help on one thing. He taught me everything I know about how to fight and use weapons. One of them was classic swordplay." Needlefoot handed him the sword. It was magnificent if simple. The blade started small, but grew outwards as it went higher, ending in a sharp point as the spine of the sword jutted forward to meet the blade. There was no cross guard, and the blade and spine met seamlessly.

"Even so, Hunter preferred to use the bow, but he was just as skilled with the blade. The tribe asked us to keep it in return for some previsions, and it has been nothing more than a revered weapon ever since." Ezio swung it around a couple times, thrusting and parrying as if he were fighting an actual enemy. Nova smiled at him, and swung her tail blade. Ezio parried, and swung back, missing her chest by a hairsbreadth as the blade whistled through the air. She brought her wing forward, and even though it was mainly used for flying, Ezio saw that it was honed to a razor edge. He thrust forward, and caught the wing on his sword, thrusting back. Instead of attacking again, Nova spun to the side, and Ezio thrust forward, catching a tiny bit of her blade that extended on her shoulder. The pain did not affect her. Instead, she swung her blade at his head, and suddenly, Ezio got an idea. He waited until her tail was almost to him, when he thrust the sword forward and sidestepped. The blade caught and lodged in the hole in the Center of Nova's spade, and surprised at what had happened, she didn't react to it fast enough. Ezio wrenched the blade downward with all his might, twisting the tail, and subsequently Nova, into a spin, landing the dragoness on her side. Fast as he could, he twitched the blade up to her chin, breathing hard, as was Nova. He smiled, and Nova smiled back.

"You know, I was holding back, right?" Nova said.

"Yeah, so was I." Ezio smiled, and Nova rolled her eyes. Blaze came bouncing up, and nearly stopped at the scene before him, then burst out laughing.

"And I thought Frost and Quake made a good pair!" He laughed, and Ezio blushed.

"How much do you want for the blade, sir?" The manweresmalls smiled.

"Keep it human. We have no need of it. All it has been doing is sitting in a dusty corner, doing nothing but reminding us of that tragic loss. With any luck, some good will come of it." The creature left, and returned with the swords sheath, which Ezio promptly strapped to a belt loop on his pants. The weapon was so light that it didn't weigh down his pants at all.

"Blaze, if you could shut your screaming howler, I would like to get my gun from the armory as well." Blaze shut his mouth, chuckled a few times, and then jerked his head. He led them inside where set on rows upon dusty rows of shelves that were stacked with all manner of weaponry, including many guns, including M4 assault rifles, grenade launchers, M80 rapid fire machine guns, pistols of every size and shape, several giant mini guns, and even, Ezio spied out in the corner, a giant hand held weapon which he could only assume was a laser. Towards the back, there was larger weaponry, including 155 mm howitzers, the big guns of the armory. Those giant lead hurlers would be used in event of invasion or siege, as they could rain molten death from on high with a single volley. On a rack was Ezio's sniper rifle, along with hundreds of other smaller weapons with it, all of them used for extreme range. Blaze motioned, and Ezio silently took the Barrett off the rack, holding it in his hands. It seemed lighter than he remembered.

"We took the liberty of modifying it, reducing the weight and increasing the range, power, rate of fire, accuracy, and clip size. The gun itself has been magically enhanced, as a thank you gift from Ignitus. If you trust it, it will be very difficult to miss your target, even at the edge of your range." Ezio solemnly ran a hand down the massive barrel. He felt like a changed man, as if this gun marked a turning point in his life. The leather sling for it had been doubled up, to provide extra strength should the gun ever require it. He took a test look through the sight, adjusting the system. He noticed that even though the dusty stone room was damp and dark, he could see clear as day, and realized that night vision had been added.

The manweresmalls spoke up again, "We are also working to restore the aircraft that you came here in, even though it will take some time. The aircraft was much damaged when you crashed it in the ocean about fifty miles south of here. The parts should finish arriving at the end of this week. It will take the larger part of a year to finish piecing it back together and getting it fighting worthy. We also have some specialty parts to add to it, to make it much more resilient, and therefore give it a chance against modern fighter craft."

Ezio picked up his gun and opened the bolt. The action slid back smoothly, like it had been freshly oiled and precision bored. A bullet was already in the chamber, ready to be fired if he should need it. He checked to make sure the safety was on. The gun felt about forty pounds lighter than it had been, so he tapped the side of the chamber, and realized that it was made out of carbon fiber now, instead of steel. It was a machine of death, and it felt like it was part of him now.

"This is my gun. There are many like it, but this one is mine. With it, I shall rain the black figure of death down upon my enemies, and strike fear into their hearts, so that at the end of the day, when the killing is done, me and my friends can sleep soundly, and without fear of the black figure." Ezio said quietly to himself. Nova smiled at him, as if she knew what was going through his head, "Tell Ignitus that I am deeply thankful for his contribution, and that I shall treasure it like no other gift before."

"I will do so, sir."

Ezio turned to Needlefoot, "What is your job in New Warfang now Needlefoot?" Ezio began to walk back towards the entrance, slinging the rifle over his shoulders as he went.

"Ignoitus has suggested that oi help in the research and development here in the city. We will be the ones to develop new insightful ways of protecting and defending our grand settlement, and if we should invent any, um, new toys, you and alpha sqoidron will be the foist to know." The hedgehog said, splitting off from them, and heading towards the elevator, "A good doi to you, sir."

Blaze looked at Nova, "We don't know how much ammunition we have, but if Malefor were to attack, our best bet would be to funnel them into a bottleneck, and take them out at our leisure. If you're attacked on your CAP, then make sure this is the first place you return to. We have a nerve center that could begin the evacuation of the entire settlement in an instant, and alert Ignitus as well."

"Got it, ready Ezio?"

"Born ready." Ezio said, jumping onto Nova's back. This time he was ready for the sudden rush. Nova ran at the cliff edge, away from the settlement. She dove over, bugling as she went, and twisted in the air, freefalling for a moment, then snapping her wings open and jerking them up wards, straight back into the sky. Blaze watched them go from his view point on the wall.

"Not a bad pair at all."


	11. Chapter 11

"Whoa!" Ezio shouted above the whistling wind as Nova tilted and banked through the skies, weaving back and forth.

"Nova! Seriously! You're gonna throw me off!" Ezio shouted, pounding on her side. She only laughed.

"You're not trying hard enough. Here, tuck your feet and legs under my rear legs. That's it. Now hold my shoulders. No not the spikes. There, right there in front of that spot. There, now pull yourself towards me. If I flip – "

"Whoa, wait, what?"

"If I flip, then pull upwards, and tilt with me when I turn and weave, so you're not thrown off by the G's." She said, then, with a burst of light, she jump forward. Ezio held on, but just barely. Re-gathering himself, he braced himself, digging in. Nova pitched downward suddenly, giving Ezio the feeling of weightlessness as his body was jerked downwards. Nova curled into a spiraling dive, spinning Ezio's head in circles. Ezio focused on keeping his stomach under control, staring into his arm pit. When he felt Nova's wings snap open, he unburied his face and looked forwards. Nova climbed up into a steep climb, and then went inverted, pulling out with a half roll, and going through a full roll again. Ezio peered off into the distance, towards the sea, and found that a small copse was sticking up out of the ground, and almost looked like tall grass.

"Hey Nova? What's that?" He shouted over the wind, pointing with one arm. Nova banked towards the disturbance in the smooth water. Mist surrounded the area where waves were beating against the shapes.

"Rock formations! Waves are beating up against different rocks of varying hardness and the harder the rock, the longer it lasts! Looks like fun!" Nova rolled 100 degrees and dropped altitude, gaining speed and banking towards the formations. Just as they reached the mist she folded her wings flat and dove in headlong. Ezio wasn't sure where the ground was or the rocks. At some point in time, he felt something brush the top of his head and he ducked down, hoping his head wouldn't be taken off at some point. Mercifully, Nova slowed and leveled out, gliding low. He saw a dark figure rise up out of the fog, and leaned forward, trying to see what it was.

"What is it?" All of a sudden, a massive metal wing emerged out of the fog, surrounded by several fragments of stone. Ezio looked down and saw the remnants of the B-17 they had flown. The aircraft's right wing had shorn off, and one of the engines was still burning from the oil in it.

"Great god! She really did get shot to shit."

"Nova!"

"What?"

"I didn't know you swore."

"I didn't till I learned it from you." She said, chuckling a bit. Nova opened her wings and climbed out of the fog, "That place is like a playground for an expert pilot." She said, shivering with adrenaline from the rush. Ezio nearly hurled over the side, so Nova leveled out and climbed using only her wings.

"Your stomach is made of glass. What's going to happen once we get into combat?" Nova asked.

"I'll focus on the enemy and not on my stomach. Don't worry about me, I can hold myself. You just worry about not falling out of the sky." Ezio said, taking a swig of water from the flask at his side.

"Not a problem. So what do you think so far?" She asked peering back.

"Of what?"

"Of everything."

"Don't you think that's a little vague? That's a bit too vague even for Thunder. I suppose I think it means my life is going somewhere finally. I don't know where, but somewhere. And as far as I'm concerned, that's a step in the right direction." Ezio said, swiveling in his seat now that Nova had leveled out, and reclining back on her neck. He yanked his sniper rifle off his back and started scanning the horizon, watching for any disturbances.

"OK, so let me narrow it down. What do you think is the most appropriate answer to the biggest question right now?" Nova asked.

"I'm gonna say 42."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. What's the biggest question right now?" He asked, looking back.

"Now what?"

* * *

Frost soared through the canyon, using the hot thermals from the ground to fly without exerting her wings. She had a new medical pack strapped to her side now, which she carried everywhere with her, just in case. That was the first thing Cyril had taught her.

"Always be prepared, Frost. You never know when you'll be attacked and you'll need to use your powers. No matter how safe you feel, always watch your back." Cyril's teachings echoed in her mind, as if her father were standing right next to her. Frost smiled at remembering the old man. She had always enjoyed teasing him about his arrogance, which, if anything, was one of his biggest faults, but Frost found that it made him fun to be around. It was something that she had inherited from the Former Guardian. She missed him though. He had been her guiding force for nearly 15 years.

"Even though I didn't always listen." Frost said to herself with bitterness. She recalled the events of how she had become imprisoned in Cynders old fortress. Anger made her wings quiver and her spines rattle together, and she nearly saw red, but she controlled herself.

"They will pay. They will all pay. Even the humans that have caused misery. Even so, Ezio might be a human, but I shouldn't be so hard on him. He's a good man and he's shown us nothing but kindness. Maybe I should apologize." Her pride kept her from resolving to do so. All of a sudden, an outcropping of rocks appeared in front of her, and she swerved to miss them. The rocks still managed to snag her tail, but they did no damage.

"So much for constant vigilance." Frost said, as she climbed out of the canyon to avoid any more hazards. She grabbed the flask at her side, and poured some of the gin that had been brewed at the village down her throat, to cool her and quench her thirst. The consumption of alcohol had been frowned upon by Spyro, she knew it, but he said nothing against it, so she continued anyways. She never drank the beverage for its tongue loosening qualities, but because of its excellent medical properties, as well as its good hydration. The drink was the only thing to quench her thirst as anything else would be insufficient. Add that on top of the fact that dragons had increased resistance to its effects, and it was virtually harmless, so long as she watched herself. She landed on the edge of the cliffs to give herself some time to rest.

"Ugh, what am I doing here? When did my life come to flying routine combat patrols? They're not even combat patrols! They're just patrols!" Frost looked back through the weeks, and found herself despising the population here more and more. Unlike humans, the various ancient races were civilized, and at least they showed respect towards each other. If someone needed help, even people who didn't know the ones in help would pitch in. If someone in human society needed the help, the most they would receive would probably be sympathy, and they wouldn't even receive that. More than likely, it would be mockery. Even though there were times that they did help one another, it only came along because of a natural disaster. If that happened, the entire world would pitch in, even though most of it was donated money.

"They will learn a lesson. I don't know how, but they will learn a lesson." Frost looked around at the canyon below, and from her perspective, saw about a mile in each direction. She launched herself off her precipice, and flapped her wings hard to level out.

"Frost, girl. I suppose the most appropriate question would be what are you going to do about it? The best question for you to ask yourself would be 'now what?'"

* * *

"OK, so how many shells do you have?" Blaze asked the Manweresmall. Quake was off to the side, arguing on the best place to put the howitzers. The Atlawa he was arguing with had a group of men that were moving the massive guns to different positions according to each set of instructions. Beyond the cannon, earth dragons were building sheer smooth cliff faces from which no enemy could climb without assistance.

"Not enough. If we were to start firing, then we would run out of ammo within an hour. Our best bet is to build our own, but that takes time." The tiny creature said. Quake was currently shoving the Atlawa's director aside, and moving the gun himself, using his brunt to push the two ton gun into place. The humans there looked on in awe, but the Atlawas scowled. The squadron had learned early on that the fawn tribe was very proud, and thought that almost always they were right. It annoyed some, but others found them invaluable. The artisans were excellent craftsmen, and they were invaluable in building some of the fortifications around New Warfang.

"Do you have any ideas how to mass produce them, then?" Blaze asked, watching Quakes progress. The Manweresmall looked towards the clear sky in thought as he considered his options.

"We could possibly use the earth dragons to mine ore at an accelerated rate, but even after a month of production, we might have enough ammo for a week, unless we found some way of advanced manufacturing." The creature said.

"How many do you have working on it?" Blaze asked.

"About ten smiths."

"There needs to be more workers on ammunition. We have more than enough weaponry but we have nothing to shoot from the weaponry. Almost everything we have is discarded from various militaries. They feel uneasy about us having the weapons, but can do nothing about it. So getting the ammo from them is impossible. We need to automate the process of ammo creation, make it an assembly line." Blaze said, walking over to the 155mm shell for the massive weapon. The shell was a lot smaller than he expected, but he knew the true potential these shells had. The bolt of metal was about two feet in diameter, and about three feet long, coming to a sharp point for better penetration.

"Get the atlawas to draw up some plans for a mechanical line that can build multiple types of rounds. More than just arty shells, you gotta get some rounds for the assault rifles and snipers as well. Plus the machine guns, those will be essential. Have a group of earth dragons bring some ore for you, enough to last you for a week of work. Within one day, you should be able to have enough rounds for all guns to fire for a week, non-stop. If you don't, then work on it. If you do, then begin work immediately, and notify either me or Quake. Worry more about the artillery and the rapid fire guns. Once you've figured that out, work on getting all rounds to be uniform for all guns, except the artillery. That should speed up the process considerably. This includes the shotguns, so make sure you can bundle a five or seven bullet shot that can be fired just as well as a normal 20 gauge shot. That'll be more than enough power, but it works well. Besides that, I'll be looking into getting us some more modern equipment. The M80's are perfectly good."

"Yes, but the M4's are a bit outdated." Quake said, walking up next to blaze, covered in sweat, "We need to get an example of the XM8 battle rifle the US forces are using today. That is the replacement for most weapons, and is what we really need. There's even a grenade launcher variant. Add on to that the shotgun and RPD variant and we would have everything we need. Plus, there is a covert ops variant that would be perfect for humans trying to get supplies from a populated settlement, or if we wanted to hide some of them among the population. Plus all the parts are interchangeable." He finished.

"How would you know?" Blaze asked, peering over at his smaller friend.

"I did homework." Quake said in his deep baritone.

"Yeah, sure."

"The point is, we either build specific bullets for each weapon, or build one for every gun in the armory." Quake said, "Do we have any examples of the assault rifle variant?"

"None, sir. The weapon is too new." The Manweresmall replied.

"Then we will have to get one ourselves." Quake said, looking upwards towards the horizon. The sun was starting to set, and he could see Nova in the distance, Ezio astride her back.

"Great. That's settled. Now what?" Blaze asked.

* * *

"Come on Thunder, say something. You're too damn quiet all the time." Eclipse whined next to the yellow electric guardian. She leaned her head against him and looked up at him, putting her lip out and pouting.

"Why? You know me, I'm always quiet. Why push me?" He said, smiling down at her.

"Oh come on. You're no fun. We finally get to relax! Enjoy it." Eclipse said.

"Oh, I do. Trust me, I do."

"How?"

"Well for instance, I have fun annoying you." Eclipse was kinda surprised by the answer, but smiled.

"So you do have a sense of humor?"

"More than you know."

"Are you sure?"

Thunder looked down at her again, "No, not really." Eclipse laughed at that. An earth dragon walked up to thunder, his bulk towering over the young yellow dragon.

"The electronic warning system is ready sir, and prepared for power." He announced in his deep voice.

"Thank you Spike, we'll take it from here." Thunder walked up to a large black box, and he turned and looked at Eclipse, "This is going to take a bit, so try to keep people from bothering me." He bent down, and opened the cover, which contained the delicate circuitry for the system. Spike walked off, the remaining forces withdrawing from the area.

"It's gonna take about one point two megawatts of power to get it running, but when it's finished, it should have more than enough power to stay running for the next 250 years. Not quite a perpetual machine, but very close. No moving parts, that's why." The guardian leaned over and grabbed one of the wires gently, and wrapped his hand around it. A bit of electricity crackled in his palm, and the wire grew yellow with power. After a bit, the guardian released the wire and let out some pint up breath.

"It takes too much concentration to get the exact amount of power into the wires. What am I supposed to do?" Thunder said, turning to Eclipse.

"Charge multiple wires at once." She suggested, "You told me yourself that it's easier at higher voltages."

Thunder grabbed a fist full of wires, and electricity flew up the length of his arm. The wires grew white hot, but Thunder seemed unaffected. When he finished with the first batch, he grabbed another fist full, and repeated the process. About halfway through his work, Eclipse whipped around, looking past Thunder. When she saw nothing, she released her tension, but continued to stare into the darkened forest. Thunder seemed unaffected, unless you considered him working faster. Eclipse was about to turn around, when she saw an out of place shadow, and she pounced. There was a slight scuffle in the shadows, and when Thunder finally finished, he turned to help Eclipse. She was shouting off into the trees.

"That's it! Run you cowardly bastard! You ever come near one of my friends and I'll kill you myself!" She shouted at the growing darkness.

"Wow, didn't know you cared that much." Thunder said walking up next to her, "Thanks for watching my back."

"Is it done?"

"It is finished. And I made sure that there is a backup system when I designed it. So if someone tries to sabotage it, there will always be a backup. It's not fool proof, but it should work." Thunder said, taking to the sky, with Eclipse following.

"OK, so now that were not being attacked, now what?"

* * *

"Finally, some rest!" Spyro said, as he and Cynder rode the elevator up to the second to highest level of the village. The front gate had just been finished, the massive steal doors stretching from one side of the valley to the other. It also had room for sentries on the top, as well as room for vats of molten metal to be pushed over the side, in case of invasion.

"You did well today Spyro. It looked tough lifting that gate." Cynder said, nuzzling his cheek.

"It WAS tough, that thing weighed over twenty tons. Even with an entire squadron of earth dragons it took all our strength. Man I'm beat." Spyro said, rounding a corner. He stopped all of a sudden as he saw the group of dragons in front of their cave.

"What on earth?" Cynder said, walking forward.

"Oye! Make way! Ouch, watch your feet! I said MOVE!" Spyro heard Blaze shouting in the crowd.

"Spyro!" Nova came running up to him, Ezio following close behind, "I don't know what's going on! We can't even get in!"

"MAKE WAY!" Decibel shouted behind the three dragons and human. The sea parted, and was silenced, as Blaze hustled up to him.

"Spyro, thank god! When you said send out the word, they did so! Decibel, did you tell everyone you met?"

"Duh."

"Blaze what are they here for? Report!" Spyro ordered. Blaze threw a sharp salute.

"Sir, applications for Alpha Squadron, Sir!"

"Impossible!" Cynder said. There were dragons there of every size and color, many dragons elements couldn't even be identified, because of the differences in color.

"OK, fine. I started this, so we'll go through it methodically." Spyro turned to the group, and projecting his voice spoke to everyone.

"All applicants will listen now!" The group grew deathly silent, "You are here for application to Alpha Squadron, are you not?"

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Yes! The entire settlement has been talking about it."

Spyro continued, "Then know this: This squadron is not a political statement, nor is it some exclusive club for people I like. It is an elite fighting force, and is trained as such! The training is difficult, as is the combat, and the chance of survival is not high, even for good combatants. Enemies will do anything and everything to get at us and destroy us! This squadron is not for the week at heart, nor is it for the undedicated. If you are not absolutely committed, then leave now, so that you do not waste my time."

No one moved.

"Very well, in a line, all of you! Come on, quickly! You'll all get a chance to try out, so don't fight over positions." The area suddenly exploded in activity as each dragon jockeyed for a better position in line, despite what Spyro said, while the rest of Alpha Squadron entered the pavilion. The rooms on either side of the entryway had been closed off, leading back to the sleeping area, which was covered up and collapsed, so that the area was smooth.

"I took the liberty of making an arena. Thought we could use the room." Blaze said, moving off to the side. Frost, Quake, Thunder, and Eclipse were along the walls as well, observing the now formed queue of dragons at the entrance to the room.

"We need a benchmark. One of us will have to spar with the dragons." Spyro said, sitting down near the wide entrance to the balcony, so that he was at the head of the room and could observe everything.

"OK, so who's going to be the one to volunteer?" Blaze asked, looking around. All of the dragons seemed tired. Ezio stepped forward.

"I'll do it. I might not be defensible against elements, but if it's just melee, I can handle one dragon at a time."

"Ezio, no. Don't, one of us can – "

"Are you sure Ezio?" Spyro asked, cutting Nova off.

"You're all exhausted, and all I've been doing is sitting on my ass all day." Ezio said, smiling.

"Very well, your choice. Who's first?" Decibel stepped forward, looking a little nervous.

"Hydro is Spyro. He was here first, so he insisted that he try out." Hydro entered, his sickly green hide standing in stark contrast to the guardians bright colors.

"I am ready. Who will I be facing?" Ezio stepped forward, drawing his sword, and Hydro just sneered, "You have got to be joking me! A mere human? Hahahaha!"

"If you think I'm that easy, then why refuse?" Hydro stopped laughing. He considered Ezio for a long moment while he sized the human up.

"Fine then. Have at it mortal!" And the acid dragon lunged at Ezio, slicing through the air with his tail spade. Ezio ducked just in time and the blade whistled over his head. Instead of counter-attacking with the sword, Ezio dropped the blade to his side and lunged at the dragon, plowing into its chest and pushing him backwards.

Hydro flipped end over end, landing on his back. Ezio tried to bring his blade up to his chin, and end the fight quickly, but the dragon kicked him in the stomach, and sent him flying backwards. Hydro rolled to his stomach and then rose to his feet and lunged in about a second, making the move in one fluid motion. Ezio flipped the blade, and sidestepped, drawing the blade along the dragons hide, making a long mark in his side. The cut wasn't deep, but it was big enough to make the dragon wince in pain. As Hydro flew towards the wall, he turned in mid-air and rebounded. Ezio fell onto his back, and brought the blade up to meet the dragon's stomach, but Hydro flapped once, raising himself above the reach of the blade. As he flew past, Hydro's spade hit the sword in Ezio's hand. The blade rang out in response, but held.

When Ezio rolled up on his feet, there was a sickly green liquid on the edge of the blade, which was slowly running down the honed edge, and burning through the spine, in less than a second, the upper half of the blade clattered to the floor.

"Shit!" Ezio dropped the blade, and the acid continued to burn into the floor. Finally, when the liquid's PH balanced out, it stopped moving, but the rock around the hole was glowing red.

"I thought we said no elements!" Hydro charged again. This time, Ezio out and out dodged.

"That came from my tail blade subconsciously. I can't control the flow, so it continually seeps from pores all over my body. Best be careful." The dragon said smiling. Ezio could tell he was taking perverse enjoyment in the fact that Ezio no longer had a weapon. He charged again.

Ezio jumped forward, throwing himself against the floor, and the dragon sailed over head. Ezio grabbed the dragon's leg as he passed, and let it pull him along. When Hydro came to a stop, he tried bringing his tail blade towards Ezio, but the human swiped his leg under the guardian-to-be, catching the front leg on Ezio's side. The dragon lost balanced and tipped over, landing on his side with a loud thud. Ezio drew the dagger at his calf and whipped it up to the acid dragons chin.

"Dead. Just because I don't have a weapon doesn't mean that I can't fight."

"Two weapons? That seems like cheating."

"Kinda like what you did. When I lost my sword, you should have desisted."

"Enough!" Spyro said, getting up, "Hydro, you are DISMISSED. If you are sent a message requesting an audience, then do so, but unless you are chosen, you will not learn of our decision." Spyro said. Quake appeared at Spyro's side, and to Ezio's surprise, Frost appeared on the other, giving Hydro a hard stair.

"Very well. Luck with the trials Alpha squadron." He turned, and spat at Ezio's feet, then walked out of the pavilion.

"Damn, I know he was mistreated, but what is that dude's issue?" Blaze said, staring out after him.

"Some people can't be taught, but far more refuse to learn." Frost said. She turned to Spyro, "Sir, what do you think of him."

"We will see."

The next few trials were nothing more than a cake walk for Ezio. He defeated opponent after opponent, and many of the dragons showed him respect. Some were more difficult than others, but each one went down without too much difficulty. Ezio's body began to ache after the tenth one, but he pushed on without complaining. Nova just watched silently.

After about the fifteenth one, Spyro asked for the next dragon to enter.

"All right Kornor, good performance. Next!" and Decibel entered the pavilion.

"Oh no way!" Ezio said. This fight seemed to scare him. He had seen Decibel in some action before.

"Why not? I'm sure I can prove myself." Decibel said, looking at each of them.

"Oh, now this one I look forward too." Cynder said, next to Spyro. By now the sun had set, and the lanterns had been lit, adding to an ethereal feeling and casting everything into sharp shadows.

"OK, fine. No element, Decibel." And Ezio lunged at him, his repaired sword in hand. The line where it had been burned through had been repaired quickly with a sharp laser from Nova, welding the two pieces back together, and even though it was visible on the surface, the sword performed just as well as before. Decibel was surprised by Ezio's sudden attack, and was able to bring his wing up in front of him just as Ezio's sword sliced through the membrane. Decibel snarled at the pain, but lunged forward, knocking Ezio over with brute force, and whistling his blade through the air towards the human's throat. Ezio brought his elbow up and knocked it into the Audio dragons chin, throwing him off balance. Ezio followed up by kicking the dragon in the chest, sliding him back a few feet, and giving him enough room to swing the sword. The blade and sword met in midair with a loud metallic clang. Ezio suddenly felt his feet slip out from beneath him, and he lost his sword in the fall. Decibel's spade swung down, and Ezio blocked with his forearm. Ezio spread his legs, and knocked both of Decibel's fore legs out from underneath him, forcing him into a bow. Ezio rolled out of the way as Decibels chest hit the ground where his legs had been a second before. He turned, and found his sword lying about three feet away, and lunged for the blade. He grabbed the hilt, roundhouse kicked Decibels hind quarters, following up with his sword. It hit nothing but the dragons tail spade. Decibel flung around in the opposite direction immediately, and Ezio turned around, expecting the dragon's tail blade to be there. It wasn't, and Ezio over swung, losing some of his balance. Ezio Felt a rock hard substance on the back of his neck, and turned to see the thick part of Decibels tail leading to the foreign object, which he now knew was Decibels tail spade, hovering at the back of his neck.

"Gottcha…" Decibel said, breathing hard.

"Holy shit, the only people I've ever seen move that fast are Nova, Spyro, and Cynder." Ezio said, "Well done. An excellent fight!"

"Well done yourself. That was difficult for me. I've never had to resort to trickery before." Decibel said, smiling, as Ezio turned around.

"Never?"

"Never."

"Well done, Decibel! You're the first one tonight to beat Ezio. An excellent job!" Spyro said, "Can you send in the next applicant as you leave?"

"Yes, Spyro. I'll see you guys around." And decibel left the room, sending in a dark brown dragon. Cynder leaned over to whisper in Spyro's ear.

"He's the best hand to hand I've ever seen." She whispered, as Ezio struck at the massive dragon, who was Oisani. Ezio disabled him in about three moves. The last few were about as easy, and none of them seemed to stick out.

As the last applicant left the pavilion, the squadron began opening up everything within their cave, uncovering the usual sleeping spots and heading to the wash chambers. Ezio soaked away his sores and cuts in the darkness of the mass shower, which the squadron had revealed to him could fill up in the center, creating a large pool in the darkness. Ezio would have normally filled the pool with hot water, but found that he preferred the cold much more, since all he had felt that day was heat. When he was done bathing, he exited to find the squadron debating the applicants.

"Several show promise, but nothing more. IF we train them they might become great fighters, but until they show true potential, then there is nothing we can do for them. I say the only two we should consider are Hydro and Decibel." Quake said in his thunder voice.

"Quake, you can't be serious! Hydro nearly took Ezio's head off! He is an excellent fighter, yes, but he is also a poor example for a guardian, as he shows no respect to even us!" Blaze said, "The only people he truly respects are Spyro and Cynder."

"I agree with Blaze, however, I don't think we have much of a choice. The squad is low on power, and we need the additional elements to counter the ones Malefor has or may control. We need to cover everything from every angle." Cynder said.

"I agree, we have no choice BUT to accept Hydro. Decibel was a no brainer. He could have walked up to me and challenged any one of us to hand to hand and be able to hold his ground. Whoever taught him, they knew their stuff. And we've already seen his control in his element. Any more sound and he could easily incapacitate a target. Kinda like your fear attack, Cynder." Frost said.

"Not fear. I think its sound as well. If that's so, then we cover almost all of the elements, except wind." Cynder said.

"Come on, do you really believe that your eight elements are the only ones available?" Eclipse said. Thunder was curled around her again, and was already fast asleep.

"I think eclipse is right, Cynder. Think about it, we each claim more than just four elements. We use both time and convexity. Even though I don't think Convexity is controlled by a dragon as a primary elemental attack." Spyro said, "At any rate, I agree with you, Cynder that we can't afford to refuse Hydro. We need his ability on the battlefield. Decibel I almost accepted right then and there, but I wanted to be sure there was no one else."

"Spyro, we have more issues than just whether or not to accept Hydro." Nova said from her bowl, Ezio leaning against her side, "Let's say we do except Hydro, ok, great. We teach him the ways of our squadron. Despite the fact that I think if he could, he would kill Ezio and the rest of the humans in the village without thought, he is also ignorant of the fact that even though we might not outrank him, we are still more powerful than him. He doesn't seem to register the fact that he isn't above other dragons. Now let's say we do except him, but sometime in the future, we find another poison slash acid dragon. One that is better than Hydro. We can't just say, hit the road jack, and then accept this new dragon into the squad. That wouldn't be alpha squad at all, no matter how much we want it. We could make a very huge mistake doing this."

"True, very true but we still don't have a choice. He needs to be a part of the squadron." Spyro said.

"OK, so we do accept him, even if we don't like him. Then what? He cannot possibly be a guardian either. There is no way. It's one thing to be a mindless killing machine on the squadron; it's another to be a guardian. To be a guardian means you protect all forms of life, no matter how feeble they may seem. Frost, despite the fact that you hate the human race, you still fight to protect them. It's not a matter of choice, but of how well you can control yourself. I say we let him work with us, like decibel is now, but don't actually accept him. If he puts his toe out of line, we can always let him go with a good conscience. If we find a better dragon, we can accept them, and when Hydro does something we don't like, we get rid of him. Either way, we can win. Shoot, if Hydro repents and asks forgiveness, then we can accept him with good conscience." Nova said.

"What if he doesn't like the proposal we give him?" Ezio said.

"Then that's his choice, not ours. No one will look down on us for working with him, and no one will look down on us for not accepting him. Keep him out of official guardian talks, and away from some of our more protected secrets." Nova suggested.

"I like it, Nova. It seems like the best option we have. Eclipse, can you wake Thunder? We need to vote."

"No need, Spyro, was just dozing." Thunder said, lifting his head.

"Very well, all in favor of Nova's plan, regarding the admittance of Hydro?" Quake, Frost, Cynder, Nova, and Thunder raised their right wings.

"All against?" Blaze, Eclipse, and even Spyro held up his wing.

"OK, all in favor of admitting Decibel into the squad and giving him full guardian rights?" Every hand and wing shot into the air, including Ezio's and Jeeves's, who had been reading into a scroll the entire time.

"Got it. It is decided then, Decibel is a guardian as of tomorrow morning, and Hydro will have full access to our flights and minor plans, plus he will be bunked with us." Spyro said. Ezio shifted uneasily, but didn't say anything.

Cynder piped up then, "OK, so now what?"

"Now we wait for Malefor."


	12. Chapter 12

"Have at it, Ezio!" The massive jaguar shouted, lunging at him sword in hand. Ezio brought the blade up to guard himself from the cat's vertical slice. Ezio forced his blade back to deflect the oncoming edge to the side, making the two pieces of steal hit the cobblestone pavement in the sparing yard. Sparks flew, and the pair attracted attention from several of the sparing groups from around the yard. Ezio spun around in a large arc, adding velocity to his blade. The cat easily, almost lazily deflected the slice, but Ezio brought his fist up and knocked the anthro creature in the side of the jaw. The blow was light enough to not cause damage, but heavy enough to distract the feline from her current move.

It was the day after the settlement had just completed the new defenses, making the area one large cohesive impenetrable fortress. The previous two weeks had flown by, despite some of the comforts he was used to being absent. Ignitus had recently asked him if he could do a favor for him. Many of the humans, who had extended lives because of their exposure to the magical energy around them, had no idea how to use a computer, and the few that did were part of the research department. Ezio was no researcher, so he had more time on his hands. As a result, Ignitus had asked him if he could search, by any means possible, for a possible local of Malefor's lair. So far, Ezio had tried all the common tactics, using satellite imagery to look at the entire surface of the planet. So far, his search had turned up nothing.

Ezio had also found himself no longer working with Alpha Squadron, even though he was still bunked with them. Every day, just after sun up he had to report to his new commanding officer, Star, a female White Jaguar. The unit was nicknamed the Phoenix's. Ezio learned early on why that was.

"Our entire unit was nearly whipped out during a human raid one time. We were victorious, but only ten personnel returned from the battle, out of the almost one hundred and fifty that went in." Star had explained to him. The tall female had taken a liking to him almost immediately. Ezio had to admit to himself that he had a hard time seeing the albino in any type of war state, but he knew better than to underestimate her, especially after working with Alpha Squadron. Her actual unit he liked. Because of his closeness to Spyro and the rest of the dragons, plus his now spreading performance against twenty plus dragons in open combat, his reputation had grown, and the different species in the unit held him in very high respect. He also found that they were very boisterous, almost always laughing, and making the most noise in the dinning pavilion. Alcohol was in great demand within the fighting force, and Ezio found himself even consuming the best beverages he had ever tasted. He never consumed over amounts though, like some of the more laid back personnel did, and he always kept his tongue in check.

Besides that, the days simply flew by for Ezio. Every night, he would come home and spar with Nova, who had taken a great liking to the sport. Nova was his closest match, if anything. Even though she had started giving it her all, even adding her element into the mix, Ezio matched her pure power in wit and talent. He had also been given a reflective shield, to help deflect elemental attacks, which he found to be of huge use. Ignitus himself had even strengthened his blade, after the sparring match against Hydro, so that it was nearly indestructible.

Ezio found himself liking the acid dragon less and less every minute he spent with him. The dragon himself was very talented, but he was headstrong, and the best he ever gave Ezio was a snarl or two, and defied the human in any way possible, even if it was against common sense. He had even learned of Ezio's help with aiding Alpha Squadron in getting them to New Warfang, and had shown him, if at all possible, even less respect after that. Decibel had been the complete opposite, taking his new guardian position with enthusiasm. Hydro had been beside himself when he had found that he was unfit for guardian ship, or even for the squadron, but seemed dedicated at the very least in proving himself. The squadron wasn't helping him at all, and found that they had even rebelled against him. Nova had voted for admitting him, but she didn't like it at all, and made life difficult for the would-be guardian. Shortly after his move in to their dwelling, Nova had perked up and addressed Hydro.

"Well, Hydro, now that you're a part of the squadron, I think it's time to give you a nickname." Nova had said, smiling. Spyro had been out on patrol with Cynder and Decibel, so no one but the squadron had been able to reprimand her. Frost and blaze smiled wide at this, while Quakes mouth thinned a great deal. Thunder had remained his neutral self, and Eclipse had completely turned away from the spectacle. Ezio was just confused. As far as he knew no one in Alpha Squadron had a nickname.

"I thought you all used your real names?" The acid dragon had said, looking up from his lunch. It was Saturday, so the entire village had been given a day off, accept for the ones who were patrolling or defending the area. Despite this fact, everyone was still combat ready, and could be fighting an opposing force within seconds.

"Well, out of combat, yes. But its custom for everyone to have a nickname, and to use said nickname till we use it more often than your real one. Look at Ezio and Jeeves. We don't even use their real names anymore."

"Mere mortals hardly count." Hydro said, turning his nose up at the two.

"Even so, it is necessary. What do you think Blaze?" Nova said, turning to the guardian. Blaze's smile turned malicious.

"Hmmm. How about butt head?" Blaze said, looking at the Poison dragon.

"Wait, what?"

"No, no, I think that's too easy, and it's a bit lengthy. What about you Frost?" Nova said, turning to the ice dragoness on the other side. Frost went smug for a second, and then looked up at the ceiling, as if in deep thought.

"I was thinking something a bit more original. How about Prick?" Frost said, perking up, "Yeah, Prick, I like it. It has a ring to it."

"Why you little - !"

"No no, that won't work in normal conversation. Besides, he's not man enough to be called Prick." Nova said, cutting Hydro off, "How about, Asshole?"

"Oooh, I like it. It fits him well doesn't it? Asshole, you know, cause you are one. I'd go further, but we don't want to get to derogatory. Yeah, Asshole works." Ezio smiled at the fact that Frost was taking his side in the matter, even if it was a bit rude, on all their accounts. He hated Hydro far too much to stop them though. And in a way, he saw this as Frost's apology.

"Very well, Asshole it is. Welcome to Alpha Squadron, Asshole. We hope you enjoy your experience, hehe." Blaze said, his smile growing.

"You're all Assholes!" Hydro said.

"No, no, you've got it mixed up. Our nicknames aren't Asshole, yours is. Hope to see you on the battlefield Asshole." Nova said, finishing up and clearing her spot at the table, Frost and Blaze hastily following her. Ezio walked out with Nova. He would rather not be left in that room. Just as he left, he heard Thunder speak up.

"Dude, you deserve it. Don't look at me, I won't stop them. Shoot, I don't think even Spyro will stop them."

Outside, the three dragons and Ezio continued towards the giant recreation hall, which contained nearly every miscellaneous multipurpose room Ezio could think of. The place was just a general hang out, and was always very loud. Everyone was quiet until Ezio had broken the silence.

"Thank you guys. You have no idea how nice it is to have someone on my side." Ezio said, glancing at Nova and Blaze. Frost cleared her throat.

"Do you guys mind? I want to talk to Ezio for a second." She said, looking at Ezio alone with a very hard stare. Nova looked back as her and Blaze walked away, giving Ezio a slightly worried look.

"Ezio, just shut up, and don't interrupt me. It's going to be hard for me to do this as is, so let me finish before you say anything." Frost said.

"OK, go ahead."

"I – I'm sorry, for treating you the way I did. It wasn't right of me. I judged you by the actions of your entire race, and on retrospect, I should be thanking you instead of criticizing you. You're the one who insured the survival of our squadron, so thank you. IF it weren't for you we would probably be dead." The ice dragoness said, looking down at Ezio. The human smiled.

"Frost, I hate to say it, but your right about most of the human race. Being human, I have some of those traits to, but I learned to suppress those a long, long time ago. And I'm not proud of what we've done either. I'm ashamed of it, and when this is all said and done, I shall help you fix everything, so that when we have peace, we can enjoy it too its fullest extent. Got it?" Frost smiled wide, and nodded. When Ezio thought about it, it was the first time he had ever seen her smile, and in his opinion, it made her shine. She continued smiling as they walked back to Blaze and Nova, whom had stopped to wait for them. Nova absolutely beamed when she saw Frost's face. Blaze, again seemed as if he were out of it.

"OK, why is everyone smiling? I feel like someone is going to turn to me and say cheer up." Everyone laughed at that, "See now Frost. Laughing doesn't feel as bad as you thought, does it?"

To Ezio's huge surprise, Frost turned her head and winked at the fire guardian, making him go into a state of shock, and making his cheeks go red. Frost laughed and took off, Nova taking pursuit, and Blaze, shaking himself, followed. Arriving to the Recreation tent, which was packed to the brim, he headed directly over to the bar, and announced in a large voice that he needed hard ale for his worries and his hallucinations.

* * *

Ezio had also found out that Nova liked listening to music. Much more than the average person did. Ezio had liked classic rock from an early age, but he had found that Nova enjoyed the music just as much as he did. He found out unexpectedly when he had been on the small supercomputer Ignitus had placed in their dwelling, to help in the search for Malefor's forces. He had been playing some AC/DC, Back in Black, to be specific when Nova had crawled into the room.

"What the hell is that racket?"

"Racket? Respect it, it's a classic!" Hydro had walked by at that moment.

"The only respect I can give that droll performance is to send it to the grave." Ezio had ignored him completely.

"Nice line, Asshole!" Nova had called back. She stayed to watch Ezio working on his computer, looking on in interest. After a while, she had spoken up again.

"How do they even make sounds like that?" Ezio turned around.

"It's called a guitar. Basically, six wires placed over an amplification device and strummed at different lengths. The shorter the length of the wire, the higher the pitch." Nova smiled.

"It sounds like monkeys getting drunk." She commented, smiling.

"That's because it is! But seriously, this is a good song. Here, let me start it over so you can listen to it." Ezio pressed the back button, and while the opening notes of the guitar filled the room, he hopped on Google and searched the images section for 'Guitar', showing Nova the results.

"And this is popular music?" She asked, giving him a skeptical look.

"Oh yeah. Definitly. I mean, just listen to that music. Ba, dadada, dadada, bwa-dadadadada." Ezio hopped up and started air guitaring to the song, surprising Nova slightly at his enthusiasm.

"Seriously, Ezio. You're acting weird!" Nova said, cringing back from the sight.

"OH, come on! Hasn't there ever been anything you've ever been passionate about?" Ezio said, halting the song.

"Somewhat, yes, but half my life has been lived in war."

"Aw, crap, I'm sorry Nova, I keep forgetting about that. Sorry." Nova looked a little downfallen, but she turned to Ezio.

"In answer to your question, yes, I have been passionate about something. My only passion right now though is ending this infernal war."

"I can respect that, Nova, I really can, my primary objective is to end it as well. But this seriously helps. Here let me give you something to listen too, an old classic." Ezio sat back down and began rapidly opening windows and clicking on links, until his mouse hovered over a single item.

"Edwin Star? Who's he?"

"You'll see. This song is called 'War' but it's not what you think. You see, listening to music does one big thing. Despite your mood, no matter how sad you get, if you listen to a good song, it always has a therapeutic effect. This one will make you feel slightly determined to stop the war, more than any normal moral speech from any commander. Other songs will make you feel epic, or are good for certain occasions. Just listen to it."

Ezio hit the play button, and the famous drums rang out, shortly followed by the loud trumpets with the bass ringing in the background. Ezio just watched Nova for a bit, as she listened to the song. Slowly, he saw a change grow over her. First, she started tapping a claw in rhythm with the tambourine in the background, and then when the chorus came along, she started tapping her entire foot, listening to the song. After a bit, she began to hum it, and when the song was almost over, he could hear her even lightly singing along with the song.

"You know, I never did imagine you as a person who would really rock sometimes, but I could almost see you doing so when I think about it. You've got the basics down. Now you gotta learn how to dance!"

"Wait, now I don't dance."

"Neither did I till I really tried it. Here, let me help. I learned this from a movie with this same song in it." Ezio started the song again, and when the music started, he started to snap, and weave his head back and forth.

"Now dancing isn't too tough. You need to let the music lead you though, don't try to force any moves you haven't tried yet, and don't lead the music. You don't have the music follow you, you follow the music!" He started jumping and hopping about, "Come on! Just jump in!"

Nova looked kinda frightened at this new side of Ezio.

"Oh, come on Ezio. You might look good doing this, but I don't!" She said, as Ezio slid, while spinning past her.

"So? There's no one here except me!" Nova looked a bit hesitant, checked all around her, then smiled and jumped in, trying her best to keep up with the lighter human. Ezio laughed at the spectacle, but kept it up, and slowly coached her through different spins, twists and shuffles, working with her quadruped form.

After a bit of dancing, Nova began to sing, and sing in earnest this time, starting to get into the music. Ezio had never heard anything like her voice before. It was untrained, but it gave her singing an almost wild quality, her voice had never been through the strain of singing before, so it was nice and strong, and Ezio thought it seemed almost confident. They were so into the music, that they never heard Spyro walk up behind them, nor did they even see him. Not until he spoke did they snap out of their jig.

"Nova, what in ancestor's name - ?"

"Ah, Spyro! Me and Ezio were, um. Uuuuuhh." She turned beat red in the face.

Ezio laughed at her predicament, "Spyro, I was just teaching her how to dance. But I think she's far better at singing. Nova, your voice is incredible to listen too."

"Ummm, uuuhh."

"Say thank-you."

"Uuuuh."

Not uuuuh. Thank. You."

"Thanks, Ezio."

"Hehe, my pleasure. We need to do that again sometime, it was fun."

Spyro walked into the room, looking between the two, "Yeah, it looked fun. Nova, I don't think I've ever seen you enjoy yourself so much. You need to do that more often. However, it's your turn for a CAP, take Hydro with you, would you? And go easy on him, he's been telling me you've been calling him bad names."

"Hehe, go crying to the boss? Typical."

"Never the less, go easy. Well, easier. Actually, why are you calling him names? Shoot, what are you calling him?"

"Asshole."

Spyro stared at her for a hard tense minute, "Sounds crude, but it fits. And I don't think I'm going to reprimand you. If anything, he needs to learn a lesson of respect. But don't tell anyone I authorized it. And don't do so in front of me, or I'll have no choice but to punish you. And I'll tell you when too much is too much."

"Got it. It's just I take a somewhat perverse pleasure in taunting him, especially with what he's doing to Ezio. Speaking of which did you hear what Frost did recently?"

"Yes, now that was something. Ezio, I am in debt to you doubly as much now. Frost not only seems more respectful, but happier as well."

* * *

However, Ezio currently had little time to reflect on the past weeks, as right now, there was a blade aimed at his throat.

"Dead, Ezio. Very well done however, you have more natural talent than most people I have ever seen. And fortunately, for you, I have two very important things that need to be addressed. First is the fact that you seem to have enough knowledge to fill this role, so I am personally promoting you too my second in command." The Albino Jaguar said, lowering her curved weapon.

"Wait, what? Second?" The Jaguar nodded, "OK, sure, don't see why not."

"The second is that your different from any other unit I've ever commanded, and I would hear your strategies and tactics for fighting. Have you anything new?"

"Perhaps we should consult with the rest of the squad. I have many strategies, actually, but it requires the entire unit."

Star summoned the entire personnel from the Phoenix's, and soon, when every Atlawa, every panther, every human, and every dragon was assembled, Ezio had the entire area cleared of any sparring matches, and had an earth dragon raise walls, and create a generally complicated building. He then turned to the rest of the squad.

"For a long time have I studied different combat technics, from medieval style large scale warfare, to today's urban fighting zones. Normally, I'd say you're an excellent squadron, but it seems that everybody is focusing on old style hand to hand combat, which isn't a bad thing, but today's urban environments means that hand to hand combat is useless, especially with ranged weapons. How many of you have used firearms before, of any sort?" Ezio exhaled when the entire unit raised their hands, paws or claws.

"Good, that'll save us about a week of training. How many are veterans of such weapons?" Only a handful raised their respective appendages this time. None of them were dragons, and he expected this.

"OK, the general idea of today's enhanced fighting unit is versatility, so that a single unit can accomplish any task. Unfortunately, dragons cannot wield weapons as easily as bipeds can, so from now on, Dragons will be known as the heavy hitters of today's unit. For future reference, they will be called tanks, because that is essentially what they are replacing, and they perform about that well. Some are maneuverable, but few can defend themselves in enclosed spaces, except in the areas in front of, or behind them. A modern foot soldiers job is to protect the well-being of the entire unit, and since the tank is the most valuable asset in any engagement, the foot soldiers job is to protect the tank, by covering its flanks. A tank, which can almost always fly, should also be able to provide close air support if needed, and do it very precisely, so as to avoid any collateral damage to the surrounding areas and friendly troops."

Each unit that had been constructed contained at least one person from each race, so when the twins from Ignitus's guard stepped forward, Ezio was slightly surprised.

"I thought you two were protecting Ignitus?" Ezio questioned.

"We were, but Ignitus seems to feel that Alpha Squadron would provide a much better solution. We are known as the best combat dragons in the entire settlement, and are the only light dragons to exist in our entire race today, with the exception now of Lady Nova." Beam said, puffing out his chest with pride. The two reminded him exceptionally of knights from ages ago, and could think of nothing better than too salute them.

"I am honoured to fight by your sides then." He said, they returned the salute sharply, and sat, "Know this however; when the unit is overwhelmed, it will fall to you to protect them. And when you are vulnerable, we will do nothing but protect you. In addition, every member should find a partner, someone who they trust with their life, who will cover them in various situations. Basically put, you will watch the back of the man next to you, and he will watch yours." Ezio said, "This should be done at your own discretion, and should change whenever the situation does. Now, the most important strategy is how to split up various tasks. In the modern arsenal, a firearm takes the place of a trusted sword. The most common one will be the assault rifle, a gun with either burst or rapid fire capabilities, and decent range. It is the best suited for most situations, even though it is not perfect for any one of them. Many of you know these well. We have other types too, some for close range, and a wide spread, good for enclosed areas, while we also have long range variants, which are good for picking off key targets at a distance, or for scouting operations. We even have rapid fire variants, good for mowing down several targets at once. Many of you will end up as simple gunmen, while others will have more specialized roles."

After he had introduced each of the weapons, Ezio had split them up according to their talents. The bulk of their force, about ten members, had been in the 'Simple gunman' slot, taking an assault rifle. He had given the long range systems to a pair of Atlawas, whom had proved themselves by their ease of being able to creep around without being seen. He had given three rapid fire guns, M80's, to a triplet of moles, the guns they carried being just as big as they were. They proved themselves by hitting targets that Ezio had placed, being effective enough to be able to still carry the weapon, and use it well. He also found that their heads barely got above the windows he had placed, and therefore, made them a very tough target. He had also given the short ranged shotguns to a group of burly panthers, whom could easily take the brunt of being on point during infiltration. As for him and Star, they had only grabbed pistols, relying more on their melee weapons, despite Ezio knowing that it was probably unwise to do so.

Ezio also had two Manweresmalls, who were unfit for combat, because of their extremely small size, take measurements of Beam and Photon, and then he sent them off.

"They're going to need armor. And make sure you have plenty of places to put stuff! There's a bit too much gear for everyone to carry!" Along with all the weapons went shields to everyone, which were reflective, to help ward of elemental attacks. The shields were large and bulky, but Ezio proved their worth by shooting one at point blank, with his arm strapped through, with his sniper rifle. The fifty caliber bullet left a sizable dent in the shield, but it never got all the way through. When Ezio took his arm out of the shield, he revealed it, where there was a small purple bruise but nothing else.

"Not exactly comfortable, but it's better than having my arm blown off. Or better yet, my head. The next things were going to work on is penetrating an installation, basically, any building that is closed off to the elements. When you first barge into a room, there are many blind spots that aren't good for your health, so we have developed a method to penetrate a room. Shotguns! Step forward. You there! You're name?"

"Sir, Midnight, sir!"

"Step forward, take your shotgun, and fire at the hinges from the hip, close range. Little bit less close than that. Good, now take em out. All three."

The panther shot all three hinges dead on, the metal blowing apart, and holes appearing in the door. The shots rang over the area as they were fired.

"Good, now kick the door down, as hard as you can. No, with your foot, don't pound on it, you don't have enough force. If someone were on the other side, then they would be trying to hold the door up. You need to overwhelm them with so much force that they are flattened beneath the onslaught. Go on! It needs to snap down."

The Panther then kicked hard, and the door flew back and down, landing with a slap.

"Good, this is the most basic way of breaching a room. There is no point in trying the door first, because if it's looked, then your enemies will know you're coming. You want to surprise them. Next up is entering the room. The first two people in will clear the area, always. Many people debate this fact, but there is only one really good way to do this. Enter, and pivote as soon as your inside. Clear the blind corners right inside the room. Don't linger in the doorway, else you are an open target, and easily mowed down."

Ezio continued to train the squadron in modern styles of warfare, continuing through the building till everyone understood the concept. Some people were having difficulties with finding little niches. The two Atlawa scouts were particularly upset, as the regimen didn't include them. He was able to quell their anger with a promise to train them in special forces moves, and complete stealth. By the end of the day, he was exhausted. The final part had been one part of the squadron against the other, using paintball equipment, attached to the standard weaponry they would be using. Ezio had been covered in several bruises, though none of them in a lethal area. Besides Star, who had taken to the new training system with skill, he was the only one. Even Beam and Photon had been hit at some point or another, the moles proving themselves worthy by being able to take down the two dragons as they had prepared to do a non-lethal close air strike on an exterior room, protecting Ezio's squad.

"Ezio, I am VERY impressed with your performance today. Have you ever lead a group before?"

"Never like this. It feels right though, and when I have difficulties, I just revert to the basics."

"Why the basics?"

"Because I don't want any of them to get killed." Ezio said, worry spreading across his face.

"Ezio, that's going to be very difficult, fortunately, you have the easy job."

"Whys that?"

"Because you don't have to make a life changing decision every second of the battle."

When Ezio got home that evening, the first place he headed was the bathing room. Stripping down and soaking in the water helped to sooth his sores. After about a minute of quiet relaxation, however, he heard water being disturbed as someone moved through the standing liquid.

"Hello?" He heard nothing but silence after that.

"Blaze, seriously, this isn't funny!" Thinking that the fire guardian was sneaking up on him. That thought left his mind as he felt cold steel press against his throat.

"Hello, Ezio."

"Hydro! You dirty bastard!" Ezio said, as the steel rubbed abrasively against his skin.

The voice gave a cold high laugh, with a slight amount of hysteria, and true insanity in it, "Guess again, human. I'm from across the pond. Did you really think that someone so insignificant as yourself can possibly stand against the Dark Lord?"

Ezio's blood ran cold.

_An assassin! Shit, now I'm in trouble!_

"Malefor!"

"Ah now we are getting closer! An impressive stand you've put up, but feeble none the less. The Dark Lord has taken a great interest in you, hehehe. Isn't that right my friend?" A slightly lower pitched voice joined the higher one, adding to the insanity, and making it sound like there were two people talking at the same time.

"Death, destruction and mayhem to the one who befriends his enemies! They shall know nothing but pain, sorrow and suffering! Bring them to me and I will choke them with their innards and make them rue the day they fought against the Dark Master, Malefor, king of all realms!" it seemed obsessed with nothing else but that statement.

"Then you are here to eliminate me from the equation? Fine, my life doesn't matter to me, so long as my friends prevail! You will have nothing from me cretin, not even the satisfaction of my suffering!"

"Oh, but you will suffer, yes." The voice said out of the dark, the blade pressing ever so slightly more on his throat, "Last time we met, I could not sense your intentions, but I should have known. IT is why my master, Malefor's right hand man, wanted me to place that abomination of an aircraft into your hands, so we could track you through the skies. Even now, the Dark Lords forces approach, waiting to rip your minds from your heads, and expose the secrets within."

Ezio felt his blood chill, "They are on their way here? Now?"

Before the creature could answer, he felt a sudden rush of wind fly just past his face, and the creature whispering into his ear grunted with the force of the impact. A door opened, and a large mass of shadows flew out into the bright light.

"That's right you coward! Run you shadowy bastard! I'll kick your can from my time to now and back again! Mark my words! You ever do this again, and I'll rip you from the inside out!" He heard Nova shouting in the darkness.

"Nova, we have to move! They have forces on the way here now!"

"What?"

"I said move!"

All of a sudden, a huge explosion rocked the darkened room, throwing Ezio straight out of the water.

"Shit!"

Nova lit herself up, exposing the room, and Ezio. Ezio ran to the door, grabbed it and wrenched it open, running out stark naked into the living area where Blaze, Frost and Quake sat.

"Clothes! I need clothes!" Blaze burst out laughing while Frost averted her eyes, trying not to bust as well, while Quake chuckled a bit, but stopped abruptly.

"Blaze, now is not the time. We need to gather and strike back!" Decibel came running into the room at that exact moment. He stopped, and struggled not to laugh as well while Ezio fell over trying to put on some pants and a shirt at the same time.

"Decibel, Audio Guardian, Wing 9 reporting!" Hydro followed shortly.

"Hydro, wing 10 reporting!"

The rest of the Squadron burst through the tapestry then, even with Jeeves astride Cynder's back, a makeshift saddle underneath him. Spyro had a saddle as well.

"Ezio now would be a good time! Grab your gear, and hop on! Wings 3, 7, 9, and 10 will fly under Cynder. The rest, you're with me! Come on, quickly!" Spyro ordered. Nova formed on the far side of Blaze, away from Spyro, while Quake was on Spyro's right side, with Thunder on Quakes right. Spyro headed out to the cliffs edge, on the inside of the establishment, which was a flurry of activities. Ezio ran and jumped into the saddle on Spyro's back, finding a locking clip attacked to the rear of the saddle where he could jam his foot in, and not worry about it coming out. Above them, large amounts of molten boulders were raining down on the settlement, as people ran about, trying not to collide with each other, and not get smashed by the massive rocks. Just above his head, Ezio heard a massive report of metallic booms that were resonating from the Howitzers as they rained death down from on high.

Spyro jumped upwards, and immediately after his jump was followed by the rest of his group. When they had all formed, Spyro shouted above the wind.

"Wing, about face!" And as one, the dragons jerked back and twirled in flight, changing their heading by a full one eighty degrees. They climbed up to the massive wall, and Ezio swore at the sight before them.

"Sodom and Gomorra!"


	13. Chapter 13

"Squad take cover! Anything that will stop bullets! If it's not known to do that, then your cover isn't good enough!" Star shouted over the calamity, firing her pistol into the throng of enemies in front of her, clambering to try and get over the walls. Ezio was running along the battlements, shouting orders left and right.

"Mr. Stevens, more shells for howitzer two! RPD's! Put some covering fire over there in that pocket, hold them off or we won't make it! Strike team, put your fire on the target marked by laser system, it will guide you straight in, watch for ground small arms fire!" Overhead, Beam and Photon went into a sharp bank, each charging up a beam of light as they went. About five hundred feet from the target, they let loose their now massive payload, raining hot sparkling death down upon their foes. One of Malefor's new siege towers went down, crumbling into the forest floor.

In the distance, Ezio could see the bright light that represented the massive portal the dark master himself was using to transport his troops. Even more now were starting to land, coming in crude boats made to protect the inhabitants until they got far enough into the natural harbor. The rock formations kept them from landing directly on the beach, where Ezio currently was, using the fortifications the earth dragons had constructed, along with Quake, in about ten seconds, sending a small earthen wall up that was inclined behind it, creating a barricade that was easy to get over from the inside, but tough on the outside. In the distance, Ezio could see momentary flashes from the dragons as they used their elemental powers, each time letting the attack resound with a soft boom. The sight was something to behold.

Ezio and the Phoenix's had been fighting for about three hours now, and the constant smash of metal on metal was difficult for him, as his arm was starting to wear down. He had long ago run out of ammo for his pistol, and had decided that he would hold the oncoming groups off with his sword. He had been fighting with just his sword for about twenty minutes now, and his arms felt like lead. And yet there seemed to be no end of the enemies in sight, the multitudes pouring from the massive light dish. None of them dared to go through, except alpha squadron, who did so frequently. Every so often, Ezio would see Nova dive in, and he would hold his breath and watch the entrance longer than it was wise until his friend came out, some new wound on her hide. Ezio could see several of his comrads who hadn't fallen were starting to fatigue, even Beam and Photon, who were constantly traveling from one side of the beach to the other, supporting the friendly forces from the sky with their elemental attacks. Every time they came back, they would be covered in sweat, and their limbs would shake while some water was brought for them, to help keep them hydrated.

The enemies weren't what Ezio had expected. He had thought from Nova's stories that his enemies would be far more unadvanced. However, these units seemed to have a mind of their own, and he even thought that because of their organization, they also had commanders of different units, unlike what Ezio had thought, as he had suspected that Malefor had commanded them all as one unit. Instead, he had found that they fought and thought like he did. Ezio was also frustrated to find that most of his squad was running out of ammo, and were drawing upon their expertise with close quarters combat, using melee weapons of various sizes. He was even more infuriated by the fact that these creatures, despite their obvious intelligence, had forced them into a combat style they hadn't trained for. This was what Ezio had feared he might run into, large scale siege warfare. The tactics his group had developed were useless in this system. Even worse, the new fortifications they had recently built were useless out here on the beach. They were at a complete disadvantage, but every warrior knew that if they could, they should hold the beach as long as they could, so as to prevent any damage to coming to their friends within New Warfang.

Although the lack of defenses and the failed tactics were bad, they paled in comparison to Malefor's new Lieutenants.

"DIE, PUNY HUMAN!" The black dragon roared as it suddenly rose above him, throwing him into shadow as his bulk blocked out he sun. The dragon lunged, and Ezio rolled to the side, throwing his shield up in defense. Every time one of these monsters appeared, it would take out at least four or five personnel before they were overwhelmed, and it caused insurmountable damage to weaponry. Ezio had even gotten word that down the line; an entire squad had been whipped out by a very skilled lieutenant. Even having to face one was a daunting task, and yet, his unit had faced two previous ones and survived. Fighting them was nothing like fighting any of the squadron members, or the dragons from the settlement. They were all fully grown and always very skilled in their elemental power. Presently, this one charged up a shadow blast and fired at Ezio, whom lifted his shield and reflected it back the dragon hitting him square in the chest. It hurt, Ezio could tell, but not enough for him to stop and give up.

Ezio could tell that these dragons weren't completely dragon, but a composite of two things. One, a true dragon, one probably not under Malefor's control, and two, some type of foreign dark magic. In fact, all of the enemies looked like that. But Ezio could see some similarities between his forces and the enemies. Like how the orcs seemed to dance about, light on their feet, jumping from place to place, almost like how the felines did. How he used the beast dragons as his heavy hitters, and how some of the smaller goblins waddled quite like the moles did. There was even a a group of orcs that were much smaller than the original ones, and were made for long range scouting. Ezio had found out about these when he had grabbed his sniper rifle to see if Alpha Squadron was doing okay, and had nearly gotten shot in the process. At that point, he had dispatched his long range Atlawas to a higher ridge to take out the enemy snipers.

The sun was about to rise again when Nova had settled down in behind the front lines. The friendly forces were being pushed back, inch by inch, and almost half of Ezio's squad had been taken down, despite the fact of all of their advanced training. Ezio had lost count of his kills at somewhere around three hundred. Nova had brought welcoming news, saying that the line was faltering, and that they could retreat. Ezio stood up on an embankment as the enemy forces withdrew temporarily to regroup.

"Phoenix squadron! Now is the time for your training to be put to the test. We are regrouping with the Nighthawks at ridge beta, prove to them that WE are the elite, and that we will not let down!" A cheer rose up among the small unit, and all the personnel turned and ran, grabbing what little equipment they could and hauling it with them. Ezio did a double take as he saw enemies rushing up the beach towards them. Nova took to the sky, and Ezio waved her off, shouting luck to her as she climbed, her golden armor sparkling in the rising sun. Ezio had found out shortly after the battle had started that each Alpha Squadron member had had a new set of armor crafted for each of them. He thought the new designs had looked very sleek and striking, and complimented each of their personalities very well.

Ezio was one of the last few to withdraw. When he reached the newest embankment, and scrambled up, he saw that the wall was much higher this time, and that finally, the trees offered some protection, as well as a perfect vantage point for his forces to shoot down from. Luna, the dark female panther who led the Nighthawks walked up beside him, tossing her head into the air, a feral snarl on her face. She turned to him, and said in a gruff voice with a very thick accent, "You are the one they call Ezio, yes?"

Ezio nodded, smiling, and Luna smiled back, "Then it is an honor to meet you. Did you know that you now control the Phoenix's? My sister, Star was killed in our retreat by a lieutenant."

"No!" Luna only nodded her head sadly.

"She died with honor. Her squadron now falls to you. Lead them well." Luna began to walk away, but Ezio called back to her.

"Wait! Our forces are shrinking, and we won't last much longer on our own. We need some help. I would be honored if your squadron would fight alongside mine." Luna smiled at that, and threw her head up roaring into the sky. Shortly after, her troops came running.

"It would be mine pleasure, Ezio. My your blade be swift."

"And may your enemies quiver in fear." Ezio replied.

"That they will, mighty Ezio, that they will." And the two commanders turned towards the growing sounds of the Shadow Forces approaching them. Ezio turned and whispered their stratagem to Luna.

"One of Alpha Squadron has told me that this will be a progressive retreat. If they press too hard, then we make a fighting withdrawal, covering our backs, and luring them towards New Warfang. If we reach fifty feet within the city walls, then we turn tail and get our asses inside, so that the sentries can close the gates. That area will be our final stand." Luna nodded at him, and made a low growl down the line.

A battle cry rose up about ten seconds later as the newly replenished squad let loose on the enemies in front of them, mowing them down with the ammo they had managed to scrounge. The guns were dry within a minute, so most pulled out their swords and started back to work on the hacking they were so accustomed too.

Several hours later, Ezio blew a whistle he had thought to bring with him, and started stepping backwards, working on the lieutenant that was bearing down on him, Luna and four others. The Lieutenant smiled at their retreat, and pressed forward, roaring with the challenge that lay ahead of them. Luna all of the sudden drew her arm back and threw her rapier, sending the hurling projectile clear through the dark dragon's forehead. The dragon keeled over as his blood covered the ground, and his troops climbed over his body. Luna leapt forward, dagger in hand as she mowed down one orc, then two, trying to get too her sword. Ezio was about to shout at her to return when he noticed he sword. Its previous owner was Star. He watched as an orc thrust his saber through Luna's shoulder, which she twitched, wrenching the weapon out of the creature's hands, and knocking it over the head. She grabbed the sword, and yanked as hard as she could. Nothing happened. The sword didn't budge. Luna tried again, but her wounded shoulder was too weak to pull it out. He watched as fear grew upon her face as a massive elite rushed her, swinging its giant club over its head. Luna looked up at him as the creature brought the club down, and he saw something he couldn't quite identify in her eyes. He could have sworn it was contentment. And then her head was completely disintegrated as the club crushed her skull in upon it'self. The elite stood above her, holding it's club high as it roared a massive bellow of victory, which was silenced by a fifty caliber shell piercing it's head as one of the scouts blew it's brains out, which splattered on a nearby tree as wood around the impact point splintered.

Ezio turned tail and ran then, the rest of his squad and Luna's followed him, panting with the exertion. About a minute into their mad flight, they arrived at Warfang's gates, and flung themselves inside, as several of th sentries hit a lock, making the gates swing shut of their own accord with a muffled boom. Several other squads were there as well, all of them looking depleted. Ezio looked at each in turn, and found that their numbers couldn't have gone higher than twenty five hundred, when they had started with over ten thousand. Ezio's heart sank.

"There is no possible way we can beat them! They outnumber us one hundred, no, one thousand to one! They'll wipe us out." Ezio said. Beam walked up beside him, a massive spear sticking out of his side. Photon had a massive chunk missing from his tail. When Ezio looked at him, Photon only smiled and shrugged.

"Friendly artillery. Don't worry about it Ezio, if we do fall, then we gave them hell doing it." The light dragon said with a smile. He seemed at peace. They all did.

"Why are you all so calm?" You know this is it for us, right? Our last stand?" Ignitus walked up beside him. Beam and photon formed themselves on either side of him, beam yanking the massive spear out of his side, and photon wrapping his tail with a wad of fabric that was already covered in blood.

"Ezio. We are at peace with our lot in life. We will die, so there is no point in worrying about it. Ezio, let go and except your fate. And when our enemies come to vanquish us, go out in a blaze of glory." Ignitus said.

"A Blaze of Glory." Nova landed beside them presently, and Ezio looked up to see the rest of Alpha squadron coming in to land. Decibel was missing.

"Where is the current Audio Guardian, Spyro?" The purple dragon looked up, sorrow on his face.

"I shouldn't have made the choice to accept him. He wasn't ready for all out warfare. But he did go down with honor. He took three of the shadow dragons with him." Spyro said, smiling at the sight.

"How?"

"His element was far more powerful than we thought. He blew the head off of one of the dragons, and took the wing off another. The final one was able to get his element into his temple, but when he died, there was a sonic boom so loud that it incapacitated the dragon long enough for Nova to kill him." Ezio looked up at Nova, who winked at him.

"Thanks for being there Ezio. It was an honor to be considered your friend." She said, nuzzling him. Her once white scales were now covered in crimson blood, and her face was even sprayed with it. Besides that though, she looked unharmed.

"Why did you return, Spyro? You know far too much, and you're far too valuable to die in this situation." Ignitus said.

"Ignitus, no matter what happens now, we are dead. Were all dead. And me and the rest of the squad figured that if we're all going to die, then we should die together." Spyro said, spreading his legs for support. Ezio could hear the distant beating on the gate as the new battering rams hammered on it at high frequencies. The gate had visible cracks in its twenty foot stone width. Four earth dragons were reinforcing the concrete structure, but it was starting to buckle inwards. Up top, cauldrons of molten steel were being pushed over the side, not only reinforcing the gate and walls surrounding it, but also burning the would-be invaders were they stood. Hydro was staring a Ezio almost maliciously.

"Don't even think about it Asshole! You touch him, your dead, and I know Spyro won't stop me. Were all dead anyways." Nova said. Hydro only grinned at her. The doors were almost breached when Ezio heard the pounding stop. He looked at Nova, who stared back at him, listening intently to whatever was happening outside. All that could be heard were fires burning.

"Surely they can't have fallen back." Ignitus said. Spyro walked up to the door, and pressed his ear against it, listening hard.

"I don't hear anythi – "

"You're all worthless! Let me do this!" A large energy signature build up could be heard all of a sudden. Spyro's eyes grew wide, and he turned to alpha squad.

"Squad, evasive 7!" And the group sprang just as the doors blew inwards, a beam of convexity blasting through the settlement. Ezio saw a large chunk off concrete fly towards Hydro, and time slowed down around him. Ezio saw that the only one not affected was Ignitus, and, when the dust cleared, the massive dragon that stood in the shattered gates, whom was clad in elemental shadow armor. Ezio took very little notice of the two though, and lunged at Hydro, forcing the dragon to move even faster. Time suddenly sprang back into life then, and the two slamed into the wall.

"Ow, damnit! What the hell?" Hydro said, as he turned to his savior. His eyes grew wide as he saw Ezio roll to his feet.

"Thank me later! Just do us a favor and keep the smaller guys off the guardians asses!" Ezio said as Nova bounded over to him. Ezio hopped onto her back, and she took flight, following Alpha Squadron, who had gone to the air. Down below the massive dragon dropped his armor to reveal the shape of the dreaded Malefor. The dark dragon was currently bearing down on Ignitus, whom stood his ground.

"Hahaha, old fool! You think you could possibly stand up to me! Ha! Pathetic!" Malefor said, advancing on the ancient chronicler.

"As long as there is breath in my lungs, Malefor, I will always defy you!" Malefor just laughed at the statement.

"Then let me rectify the situation, so that you no longer have to labor in your own air!" And at that, the two dragons lunged at each other. Ezio had thought Igntius had been a bit old for his age to even have thought of going into normal battle, much less going in against the dark master, so when he saw the ancient dragon twist through the air, doing an incredibly tight barrel roll to the side, to avoid Malefor's first swipe, and pulled the maneuver off faster than Ezio could track with his eyes, he was in awe.

"Holy crap, the old man can fight!" Ezio said. Alpha squad had regrouped now, and were in one massive formation.

"Spyro now would be a good time!" Cynder shouted over the wind.

"Not yet!" Spyro said.

"Spyro, Ignitus can't hold off Malefor forever! He's going to need us!" Nova shouted in front of Ezio, whom had already pulled out his sniper rifle and had it trained on Malefor. There were times when Malefor moved so fast that he disappeared from view.

"Damnit, even if I did get a shot in, he could be gone before the bullet reaches him!" Ezio said to himself.

"Spyro!"

"Not yet!"

Down below, Ignitus, despite his obvious skill, was having difficulties. Malefor had already dispatched of Beam and Photon, and despite this fact, Ezio was sure they were still alive, even if they were unconscious. Ignitus presently hit one of the walls, crashing through several tree trunks and leveling a part of the forest with his body as he flew through the air. The next swipe from Malefor was somewhat easy for the dragon, despite his age as well.

"Ha, you're not half bad, old man, but I have always been more powerful than you in every way! And when you refused my offer to become my right hand man, I should have killed you then! Bah, I see my folly now, but you will suffer much pain for the difficulties you've caused me! And now look where all this resistance has gotten you! Nowhere, my old friend." Malefor said, approaching the old chronicler as Ignitus tried to crawl away. Both of his foreleg bones were obviously broken, so walking was impossible for him.

Malefor hit Ignitus again, sending him sailing across the canyon, where he landed with a thud against the wall. He tried three different times to get up, as the dark dragon approached him, getting ready for the lethal blow.

"Still, I suppose that a family member should be given some consideration. I guess your death shall be fast. Make it easy on you, no suffering." Malefor said, looking down on the former fire guardian with a malicious smile spreading across his muzzle.

"Brother, why hath thow forsaken me?" Ignitus said, looking up at the purple dragon.

"Because you forsook me."

"PUMP HIM FULL!" Spyro shouted, edging over and diving down on top of the dragon. Eight beams of light shot down as the dragon turned to see the commotion above him. He heaved his bulk to the side and rolled, avoiding the entire system of attacks. However, one shot rang out, and a sharp tracer hit the dragon dead center of the chest as he came out of the roll. Malefor grunted as his chest cavity started spurting blood, and the injury took effect.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Malefor said. At that second, Malefor shot a spear of convexity at Ezio, and his aim was true, almost hitting the human square in the center of the face. Instead, a sickly green hide obscured his view, and a bolt of acid fell towards the dark dragon as Hydro took the full brunt of the attack. The acid struck Malefor right where the hole was from Ezio's bullet. Malefor screamed in pain as the liquids biting action took effect. He turned and ran to the gate, roaring as he went, and the shadow forces within New Warfang fled, striking out at anything that got in their way. The citizens of the massive city cheered in victory as the last lieutenant cleared the main gate. Ezio was oblivious to everything though as he and Alpha squadron soared down to the scene below them. Ignitus was struggling to get onto his stomach, tears glinting in his eyes. And at the base of the gates lay Hydro, whom had taken the position of hero of the day. When Alpha squadron landed, all except Ezio, Spyro, and Cynder bowed to the Acid dragon. Ezio approached the dragon, who had a massive burn in the middle of his chest, the wound cauterized by the sheer intensity of the blast. Ezio kneeled beside the dying dragons head, and grabbed his horns, holding the dragon up for him too see the world around him.

"Man, you better be glad I did that dude." Hydro said to Ezio.

"Why though?"

"A life for a life, my debt is now repaid."

"You idiot." Ezio said, chuckling with a single tear streaming down his face. Frost stepped forward and filled the wound with Ice.

"Ah that's better. Doesn't feel so bad anymore."

Nova spoke up then, "Hydro, you deserve your rightful name now, and I think, a title, even if it is slightly empty. Spyro, I move for a vote to make Hydro a Guardian, and a part of Alpha Squadron."

"I agree, all in favor?" Every single wing and hand slowly raised in unison.

"Welcome to the Squadron, Hydro. You deserve better than this, though." Nova said, chuckling a bit.

"Na, all I needed was for you to call me by my name. Was my own damn fault anyways, I was a blind bastard. And I deserved it." Hydro said, chuckling a bit. His chest heaved as he took a labored breath.

"Oh, god. It doesn't hurt, but it sure as hell feels horrible. It's tough to even intake air." Hydro grabbed Ezio by the shoulder then, and drew him close.

"Ezio, you keep her safe, you hear me? Keep her close to you. She's worth more than you know, and she is lucky to have someone like you. And you're lucky to have someone like her." He said in almost a whisper, gesturing with his nuzzle ever so slightly towards Nova.

"Don't worry, I will." Ezio said, and then added on, "My friend."

"I am proud to call you such, Ezio. May your fortune be better than mine." And then the Poison Guardian took his final breath, disappearing in a gentle blue light as his spirit entered the ether. All of Alpha Squadron raised their wings in salute to Hydro's final flight.


	14. Chapter 14

"I say, we leave! Humans are bound to have heard about the battle or the sound, and they'll be on the way here! But that's the least of our problems! Malefor also knows our location! It's not a question of "IF" he'll attack again, but "WHEN" our only chance is to leave New Warfang!" Blaze said, pounding on the table in front of him.

"Except that we could easily be attacked while we are traveling! What would happen if we tried to move all these people and were attacked on the move? It would be a slaughterhouse! Not only that, but how are you supposed to move over fifteen thousand people without being seen? Impossible!" Frost said rebutting.

"I say we attack the threat head on, and deal with it. We're going to have to go on the offensive at some point anyways! Why not do so now, when Malefor is weakest?" Quake argued.

"MALEFOR ISN'T WEEK." Nova said, coming into the room with bandages wrapped around her chest and wing, "If you assume he is, then you will pay the price. The only time he isn't week is when he is dead, but even then, he's already proven his ability to overcome that obstacle. He is never week, just like Spyro and Cynder are never week."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Thunder said who again had been mostly silent for the duration of the meeting. Eclipse again had been grievously injured in the battle, and was unconscious in the sickbay, so Nova knew he was worried. They had all been injured, but none of it was too serious. Except Hydro of course. The guardians had given him and Decibel a final resting place. Even though they had no bodies to bury, Spyro had decided to light two lanterns and set them off into the sea. Quake had provided an indestructible material and Nova had lit two everlasting lamps for the deceased guardians. They would sail forever more, as nothing could put out the lights, nor could anyone destroy the lamps. Nova had made sure of that.

"I suggest we do several things. First off, I agree with Blaze. We have no choice but to leave. There are several reasons for this. First, our numbers are too few. We need reinforcements, and the only place I can think to get those, would be one of the other dragon cities. It's one of the reasons I don't agree with Quake. We have too few numbers. With Alpha Squads firepower down by about fifty percent, we couldn't possibly stand against the dark master and his legions. Oh, most definably, we would fell many foes. But in the end, we would get nowhere near our target. The other thing is we need to rethink our strategy."

"Yeah, and not use mine!" Ezio said, walking in, "I was a fool. I was stupid! While the strategies I developed were good, they were only good for one thing: Urban warfare. We aren't built for that. However, I was told that once the invading force breached the gates, our defensive positions increased in effectiveness drastically. What we should have done was set up a better early warning system, and then let them come to us, not we go to them. It was like Normandy Beach back there, and I would shudder to repeat it. Give me some time, I'll think up an appropriate strategy."

"And why should we trust you? The last time we fought - ."

"The last time we fought, we already knew what we were doing. It's only by Ezio that we didn't lose anymore once they breached the city gates. I remember the second siege of Warfang. We could have used those tactics then, it would have saved a lot of lives." Spyro said, entering the room, Cynder by his side, sitting at the head of the table, facing the door. It had only been a mere five hours since the attack, and everyone's nerves were still on edge.

"OK, fine, Ezio, do you have any other ideas?" Frost asked. Her friendly attitude towards him had worn off, and now she was miffed.

"Several. Spyro, I don't know how, but we need to hide our forces as much as possible. Once they realize were gone, they're going to be searching the entire planet for us. We need to hide, and do the striking, but in small amounts. In human terms, it's called Guerilla warfare. Doing so is highly effective, especially with our size. We'll just be a thorn in Malefor's side though, nothing more. Also, once we leave, New Warfang will become Malefor's, no matter how many troops he must lose." After that statement, silence emanated through the room.

"What do you suggest then?"

"Rig the place to blow. Hopefully we will take out a bunch of them with the place. In the meantime, we evac the place, get enough supplies for the trip and then get out of here. Face it we really don't have much of a choice." Ezio said.

"What about the humans? Do you really think that they'll just let us go? And how are we going to sneak over fifteen thousand people through populated areas? The only possible way would be to trickle a certain amount in and out every day, it could take years to get past a major population center! And what about camping? Making camp will take ages." Frost said.

"It will be difficult, but we will take things as they come. As for the camping and the work, EVERYONE will have to pitch in. EVERYONE cooks, EVERYONE hunts, and EVERYONE does EVERYTHING. The population centers we can avoid." Ezio said, running his hand along a map in the center of the table.

"Then which city would you suggest, young one?" Ignitus said. He had been keeping his peace most of the time, but had been almost silent throughout the meeting, which was somewhat unlike him.

"New Hvadia. We could try the larger New Ascari, but that would require overseas travel. Something that we could not achieve without several large ships, or a massive amount of aircraft. The only way is to find a large amount of land vehicles, and simply just drive there." Ezio said.

"It couldn't be that simple, could it?" Spyro said.

"Why not?"

"Because it's never that simple." Spyro commented.

"It probably won't be, but if we stick to non-populated areas, then we should be decently ok, unless we get attacked. For some reason, I don't think Malefor cares if humans discover our existence, so we need to move as fast as possible. We need to push ourselves till we reach Hvadia. Ignitus, would you be able to lead us there?"

"It would be my pleasure."

"Anything else then? Then we need to start now. Spread the word, get everything together. And we can't afford to be bogged down. I hate to say it, but anyone who falls behind, gets left behind."

"Great, now were nomads. It can't possibly get any worse!"

"Don't say that!"

* * *

Ezio had thought that setting up for travel for eight different dragons was a nightmare, but this was ridiculous. Setting up for over fifteen thousand people was downright insane, and Ezio found himself relying on other people finally. Ignitus had come out of his quiet state to help get everything going. Despite the imperfection of the logistics, under his guidance, the entire colony was ready to begin moving by noon, which surprised Ezio. Ezio decided that the first half of the morning should be spent on Nova's back.

"Man we have got a long way to go! And moving this many people on foot for a week or so is going to be slow moving. We REALLY need some wheels." Ezio said, reclining on Nova's back.

"And how do you suggest getting said wheels? Stealing that many vehicles is going to be tough without alerting the authorities." Nova countered.

"I don't really know, but I've got a few ideas." Ezio said.

"Like what?"

"Nova, you forget, I'm rich." Ezio said, smiling on her back, and gazing up at the fluffy clouds overhead.

"OK, great, so we don't even have to steal them, but the dealer is bound to ask questions."

"Not if he's smart. The only issue is finding enough to haul all our supplies, and then get a mass amount into huge vehicles like that. I'm thinking large tour buses." Ezio said.

"What?"

"Vehicles the size of a small house that can carry about fifty people, or more if you fit them right. If I could find a double decker version then I might be able to haul more, like eighty to one hundred. Even still, you'd need at least ten to haul one thousand, so that means were going to need over one hundred." Ezio said, thinking out loud. Ahead of them, Spyro soared with Cynder next to him. Spyro had ordered a loose formation, so they weren't as close as if they had been in combat.

"And where are you going to get that kind of transport?"

"Dunno. We'll find something here soon. Even if we have to attach trailers, or even get semis, we'll get it to work. If anything, what we'll need is for us to get as many as we can, and then ferry as many as we possibly can from a long term campsite, and then travel, non-stop until there all in New Hvadia. It's not optimum, but oh well, we make due with what we are given, not with what we want." Ezio said, shrugging.

"Ezio, did I ever tell you how much I like having you around? You're so damn full of wisdom." Ezio just laughed.

* * *

"I was almost expecting this. There was no way we could go anywhere but towards this place." Quake fumed looking out at the simply massive amount of lights that stretched off past the horizon. In the center of the mass lay a very pointy and very big structure.

"Paris, France. Haven't seen it in years. I forgot how beautiful it was." Jeeves said next to him on the ridge. About five miles behind them lay the mass of people that was the remnants of New Warfang. It had taken them almost three weeks to get there, and most of the populace of the former village turned city was tired of traveling for so long.

"If we are going to find anything for them to travel in or on, it'll be here. Do you have any ideas?"

"Several, each more wild than the first. I need someone to go in with me, I won't go by myself. You can't go, for risk of one of Malefor's Lieutenants being in there. And none of the humans can go in, I already checked, ALL of them are outcasts, but not for the wrong reasons. We need a human that has never been seen before." Ezio said, standing with his sword drawn and set across his lap. He had taken first watch.

"So what are we going to do?" Quake asked, glancing at him out of the side of his eye.

"I need to talk to Ignitus."

* * *

"You want what? You have seriously got to be joking me! Ezio, we have done a lot of things for you, but this is ridiculous. You want one of us to go in with you? Why won't you go by yourself?"

"Because if something went wrong, I want to be able to get out, or at least get some word to the village to retreat." Ezio countered Cynder's exclamations. Spyro only looked thoughtful.

"OK, so say one of us did go in. How the hell would you suggest us to disguise ourselves? Dragons aren't exactly inconspicuous. Stealth isn't our primary thing!" Blaze said. It seemed now that except for Nova and Spyro, who hadn't said anything, the entire squad was against him in this.

"There has got to be a better way! I can't think of one, but there's got to be!"

"There are several ways, but this is the safest and fastest."

"Then what, by ancestors' name, do you propose Ezio?" Ignitus said. Ezio turned to Jeeves.

"What? Is it something in my teeth?"

"You said you were once a dragon?" Ezio said.

"Of course. But that was a long time ago. Why do yo - ." Jeeves looked at Alpha Squadron then.

"Oh, no way! Ezio, you couldn't imagine what it's like!" Jeeves said, throwing his arms up and going ballistic.

"What is it?" Nova said.

"He wants to change one of you into humans!" Jeeves said, pointing at her.

"You must be joking."

"Why should I? It would only be temporary. That is, Ignitus, if you think you can do that." Jeeves said, looking at the massive chronicler. He looked kind of surprised.

"Of course I can, but it's not right. We don't do such things! I have the power, as any chronicler should, but this is downright disgusting. It would be like have a gender change!" Ignitus replied, looking kind of repulsed.

"Why not?" Ezio said, looking at Nova.

"It goes against the rules." Spyro said, looking up.

"What rules?"

"Most of them are unspoken agreements. Even though powerful dragons can do more than just control their elements, they do very little more. It's why Spyro and Cynder don't use the control of time to reverse everything that's happened. Things can happen, things that are not just bad for us but bad for EVERYONE. The rules themselves are called fundamentals, rules we do not break under no circumstances." Nova replied, not looking at Ezio fully. He had a general idea of what she was thinking.

"But, when times change, so should the rules. You're telling me that just because you're afraid of a little bit of change that you won't change the rules?"

"We aren't afraid!"

"Then do something about it! If you won't do anything, then I'll take one of the former Nighthawks in, unchanged. We'll see how well that goes." Ezio said, getting angry.

"What if we sent Cynder in?" Spyro said, Cynder almost went pale, but she held herself, "Using her shadow element. She couldn't be seen, and you could scout areas out."

"Impossible. Paris is a major attraction from around the world. The place would be too crowded for Cynder to sneak around." Jeeves said, thinking hard, "I suppose your right. It's either this, or go back to New Warfang. We can't go around, its way too spread out. We would have to go all the way out to the ocean, and then come back in through the UK. No way. We could go south, and try and pass through the Middle East, but that place is still pretty popular, and it's VERY dangerous. We have no other option except surrender."

"We cannot, and we will not."

"Then this is the only option." Ezio said.

"I see no other way. All we need then is to find a volunteer." Ignitus said, he went to get up, but Nova stepped forwards.

"I will do it." Nova said. Frost gasped in surprise, but Ezio smiled. He could think of no other person whom he would want by her side. Ignitus sat back down, mildly amused, but kept any comments he had to himself.

"Very well. Everyone leave. It should only be me and Nova in the pavilion." Ignitus said. The squadron turned to go, all of them looking slightly disturbed, but Ezio stood where he was.

"Ezio, come on!" Ezio didn't like leaving Nova behind, but he complied, rather reluctantly. The area outside was covered with tents; Ignitus's being massive to accommodate for his bulk. The area where they had pitched camp was populated by dense trees, and the village had had issues getting the tents wedged into the small spaces.

Several minutes passed by, and then the minutes turned into a half hour, and then an hour, and then two hours. And still they waited. Finally, the curtain was swept aside, and what stepped out stunned Ezio more than anything else he had experienced yet.

The female that stepped out had a perfectly formed body, very sleek. The tresses of her hair were tied back ever so slightly, and spilled down her back. She wore only a simple tank top, jeans, and sneakers, nothing more. When she stepped forward, she seemed slightly unbalanced. Her eyes were the purest blue Ezio had ever seen, making the sky above them seem pale in contrast. She seemed to be an almost perfect example of what represented Nova.

"How do you feel?" Ezio asked, approaching her. She leaned onto a picnic table and rubbed her head.

"Dizzy. Is that normal?"

"Hehe, no. Sit down, eat something." Ezio said, handing her some bread that he had grabbed as a snack.

"Thanks. Ignitus says that this will last for about a full seven days, and afterwards, it'll wear off, right at the time I was changed. Damn, this feels weird." Nova said as she munched down hungrily on the loaf, "Sorry it took so long; Ignitus had to teach me how to use quite a few of the new appendages. I'm still a little rusty."

"Yeah, I could tell, you looked a bit wobbly."

"Bah, bipedal design. So unstable. But that's not what bothers me, though; it's the lack of wings. Knowing that I no longer have the freedom of flight is tough."

"Don't forget that and try to jump off the edge of a building thinking you can fly."

"Yeah, that would be bad."

* * *

Ezio knew Nova would kill him if she could read his thoughts. At the moment, they were flying towards the city, with the sun just beginning to rise in the distance. The motorcycle Ezio had "Commandeered" made Nova slightly nervous, as she saw something with two wheels as even more unstable than two legs. But Ezio could say he was having an absurd enjoyment with the ride. Nova had opted to wrap her arms around Ezio's waist, and was holding on for dear life as Ezio rocketed towards the population center. Ezio found that her chest squeezed against his back was making him quite hot.

Finally, the road widened into a many laned highway, and Ezio had to slow to a much more manageable speed. The motorcycle easily wove in and out of the bigger vehicles. Ezio drew in sight of the outskirts of the city, and Nova tightened her hold as she saw the guard post up ahead. Ezio drew out a wad of bills.

"Now I only need to bet on the greed of human kind." Ezio simply drove up, and slapped the wad on the counter. The man's eyes grew wide, and he looked up and said something in French. When Ezio only continued to stare at him, the man simply grabbed the wad, shoved it inside his coat, and motioned for them to move along.

"All too easy." Ezio said, smiling back at Nova.

"How much did you give him?"

"About a thousand. Not much for me." Ezio said now slowing the bike down even more, and weaving through the crowd. The streets were far too congested for the motorcycle, and it was starting to get dangerous for them, so Ezio stopped the bike, and left it on the side of the road, safely tucking the keys under the front seat, and grabbing the bags from the side compartments. They continued onwards towards the Pointed Structure.

"What is it?" Nova asked, looking up in awe.

"It's called the Eiffel Tower, one of the wonders of the world. It's known as a very romantic location. Many couples travel hear. Too many sometimes. But that's the first place I want to go."

"Why?"

"Because of the view. Fortunately, there is a restaurant at the top. We can eat there while we plan our next course of action. I believe the restaurant is now called 58 Tour Eiffel, and it is open to anyone during lunch time. During dinner, it is reserved about three months in advance." Ezio said, peering upwards at the massive structure. They continued walking for the better part of three hours now, taking in the sights and the sounds of the city. Nova couldn't stop herself, she really enjoyed the sounds of the place, what with the street vendors hawking their wares, and the subtle scent of Champaign in the air, it was enough to make any person loose themselves, and that's exactly what happened. One moment, she was following Ezio, who seemed to know where he was going, the next, she found herself all alone.

"Ah, crap! Ezio? Ah man, now what am I going to do? He could have gone a thousand different places." She looked at the massive steel structure that was ahead of her.

"I suppose he did mention going to the restaurant there. I guess the best thing would be to head there. Maybe I'll find him on the way." Nova thought as she picked up her trudging again. Before long though, her course started to stray, and she had to take an out of the way route through the narrow streets. The population and crowds started to dwindle, and before long, Nova found herself in the middle of a quiet street, with ramshackle houses, and overflowing dumpsters.

"Yech. Who lives like this?" Nova said out loud as she trudged down the street. A dog barked somewhere in the distance. Nova couldn't shake the sudden feeling like she was being watched, and her hand instinctively reached for the small Glock that she had grabbed before she left, which was currently wedged into the small of her back. She reminded herself that the weapon had only one shot. The barking dog sounded as if it were getting close.

About half way down the street, Nova heard a sound behind her and swiveled around, gun now in her hand. Nothing was there, so she turned back around and continued down the street. Suddenly, a bottle was flung from one of the darken windows from the run down houses, and upon impact, it ignited, the alcohol inside flaming to produce a large concussive wave that knocked Nova off her feet. Two more arched through the air, intent on putting the disguised dragoness's life to an end. Nova had no choice; she used her light power to zap the two bottles where they were. The instant they were gone a group of Orcs rounded one of the alley corners.

"Crap, why can't you guys just leave me alone?" Nova said. The orcs only laughed in their low guttural sound. Several drew blades, and one pulled out its arm mounted cross bow, which Nova knew it could use to lay down a steady stream of dark magical energy. Most likely it was that one that was the leader. All of a sudden, the commander leapt high and forward, soaring over Nova as it went. Despite the fact that Nova had no warning of the attack, she had just enough time to bring up a magical shield to deflect the impact of one of the orcs bolts. Nova reminded herself that if it impacted, she would have much less defense than normal, because of the more fragile human form. The Orc landed, and brought out a blade attached to his wrist swinging around, and Nova produced a magical light blade, with which she parried and countered. In her frenzied attempt to ward off the commanders attack, she had completely forgotten about the other Orcs, and one of them was approaching from behind. When Nova got close enough, it lunged forwards with bloody intent.

Oh, no you don' laddie! I'll gut ye for pullin' such a dirty trick!" Nova saw a slight amount of movement, and all of a sudden, her body felt incredibly light and fast, almost like she was floating. She leapt high over the Orcs head, and saw its dark eyes grow wide. Just as she was about to land, she brought the blade up and brought it down on the orcs helm, splitting the steel and mixing the armor with brains and blood. She saw ever so slightly a man that was holding a massive blade and swinging it around faster than Nova thought possible.

Finally, the orcs turned and ran for their lives as the two chased them off.

"Haha! Ye'll think twice before ye fight against bane thee dragon again! Run yee blasted cowards! And maybe ye'll think twice before attackin' again!" The man, whom upon closer inspection turned to Nova, and bowed, surprising Nova slightly.

"Yee aren't the only dragon traveling this area in disguise. What brings yee to fine Paris?" The man seemed old beyond belief. His hair hung down past his shoulders, and despite the heavy Irish accent, his hair was complete silver, almost shimmering as he moved. The sword he wielded was nearly as big as he was, but he twirled it as if it were light as a feather. After a moment of consideration, he dissipated the massive blade into thin air.

"I should ask you the same thing. What is your specialty?" Nova asked. The man stared at her for a while.

"You haven't been here long, have yee miss? It's rude to ask a dragon his specialty where I come from. I however, am from the emerald isles. However, I got tired of all the fog and dreariness, and decided to see the world. If you really MUST know my specialty be gravity, and tis a powerful element indeed." The man said, starting to scowl a bit.

"I apologize. MY name is Nova. And as for my business, I suppose if your allied against Malefor's forces then – "

"Who now? The Dark Master? Ha! He hasn't been seen for over forty thousand years, haha. And tis a grand thing too!" The man said.

"He was seen last week."

The man's eyes grew wide, "I don't believe it. I would have heard about it."

"You haven't heard about it, because all eyewitnesses have been killed or are hiding. Cept me now, as I was fighting him."

"Preposterous! From the stories I've heard since I was a wee lad, it would take over one thousand dragons to kill him, unless there was a friendly purple dragon present."

"There were two. But that's all I can reveal in an unsafe location." The man considered her for a long time.

"Very well, I would be happy to escort you miss, if you would allow it."

"Thank you, Bane. It would be my pleasure. Currently, I was heading to a meeting to help reunite with a friend. The tower. Do you know how to get there?"

"With me eyes closed." And with that, Bane swiveled on his heels and traveled off, Nova following at a close trot.

It was nearly dark when Nova and Bane arrived at the base of the Eiffel tower. Nova was already looking around for Ezio. Bane had the feeling that he might have gone too far in helping the young dragoness.

"She'll most likely end up stabbing me in the back when I'm not lookin'." He said to himself, as Nova began calling out her friend's name. Bane was surprised that this dragoness cared so much about her friend. Suddenly, Bane spotted a man waving towards their direction. Nova hadn't noticed yet, but Bane was almost sure that the creature wasn't who she was looking for, as he could sense the man wasn't a dragon, but a mere human. However, the more and more that they stood around looking, bane was less and less convinced. Finally, the human simply buried his face in his hands in exasperation, and began trotting towards them, covering the large amount of distance between them rather quickly, even for a human.

"Nova!" The human called when he was within earshot. Bane felt himself go slack jawed.

"Finally, there he is! What?" Nova asked, looking at the incredulous look on his face.

"Ah human? Have you gone stark raving mad, lady? They're not exactly friends towards us!" He said. A small child turned towards him, looking at him quizzically, "What are you lookin' at lass?"

Ezio ran up and hugged Nova.

"Thank god, I wasn't sure if I would find you again! How did you get here without getting lost?"

"She didn't, we ran into some trouble, luckily I was there, else young Nova here would be six feet under right now." Bane said, approaching him.

"Really? Then you have my thanks, kind dragon. I will make sure you are rewarded." Ezio said, "Sorry for being forward, but who are you?"

"The name is Bane, good sir. And considering that you're not running about now, I'm gonna guess that your used to powerful dragons." Bane said, smiling slightly. He was beginning to like the human already.

"More than you could guess. Thank you Bane. I'd love to stay and chat, but we need to find another observation point. The restaurant 58 Tour Eiffel is already closed to all but the fanciest guests." Ezio said, glancing wistfully up at the peak of the structure.

"Wrong again! I can help you there. Even the richest humans don't have the kind of connections I have. The owner owes me a debt, and I haven't been there in ages. He has a wonderful private backroom that I'm sure he wouldn't mind lending to us for the night." Bane said, smiling, and beginning to walk away, beckoning towards them.

The back room turned out to be the highest point of the tower, and Ezio could not have remembered seeing a more spectacular view. The night air was warm and clear, and the only lighting for them was the stars above, the lights below and the candles that kept the place lit. The owner had indeed been very gracious when Ezio found himself lavished in some of the best food he had ever tasted, and that was saying something about him, considering that he had once lived with his own professional cook.

"All right then you two, I want to know your story. Where are you from, and what are you doin' here? Shoot, forget that, why does a human know about our existence Nova? We guard that secret the closest. If Zeus ever found out, he would have your head." Bane said, smiling and pointing at her with his fork, which currently had a very tender lamp skewered onto the end of it.

"Who's Zeus?" Nova said, and Banes eyes went wide.

"Who's Zeus? Nova, where you born yesterday? Asking a question like that is like asking what the earth is, considering you're a dragon! Zeus is the most powerful of dragons in the world. The only convexity dragon to ever have existed." Bane said, chewing slowly.

"Was the most powerful dragon."

"Excuse me, what?"

"WAS. Not anymore. And if you dragons place power over intelligence, then – "

"We do. The most powerful of the dragons is always the one to hold the dragons secret, and punish any wrongdoers as he sees fit. Otherwise, the law holder can be opposed." Bane said, smiling.

"Bane, have you ever heard of the dragon, Spyro?" Nova asked, staring at him intently.

"Every hatchling knows of the Legend of Spyro, but that's all they are, a legend. We have had several purple dragons, but none of them have lived past their hatch day."

"Why?"

"Because no one wants a repeat of Malefor. It would tear this world apart."

"Again? I doubt it."

"Again? What are you, Nova? Some ancient dragon that I'm not aware about?" Bane asked, looking incredulous now, and wrapping his hand around his knife. He seemed slightly tensed, as if he were preparing to strike. But Ezio knew better, as he would rather run.

"Bane, have you heard of the Dragon City, Warfang?" Nova asked, staring at him intently.

"Aye. Most dragons don't put stock in a dragon city; we think that it creates too many problems, such as the fact that if humans wondered around enough, they would eventually find it. None have thus far, but Zeus is getting tired of close calls. He would take them out and disperse the settlements, but they are too strong for him.

"Should I tell him Ezio?" Nova asked, looking at her friend.

"I think we can trust him. If not, we could always take him prisoner." The human said, and that entitled a slight growl from Bane.

"Bane, the remnants of New Warfang lie about fifty miles south of here in a dense wood. I say remnants, because we were recently attacked." Nova said.

"By humans?"

"No, something worse." Nova said, her face going into a state of reflection.

"What could possibly be worse – OH, that's impossible. Malefor returns? That's the only logical explanation!" Bane said, and he rose to his feet.

"Easy, Bane. Malefor will strike again, and soon, but we have hope."

"There is no hope against Malefor! He has survived far longer than anyone wishes, and his power only increases! And his Lieutenants are far worse than you might imagine. We remaining dragons struggle to survive at the edge of his communist society! If he has returned, then that means I should run!" Bane said, turning. There was a loud crash as Ezio jumped over the table, landing a kick squarely in the bottom of the dragons back, and knocking him down face first. Bane snarled, and reached for his element, but Nova stayed him, countering with her own, and smothering his element inside a shield that wrapped around the dragons body. Bane struggled with the dragoness turned human, and his forehead creased in concentration. Nova showed no signs of strain.

"By my ancestors! Nova, how did you get so strong?" Bane said when he slumped backwards from exhaustion. Nova only smiled.

"I am strong because I am a guardian." She said straightening up, "Do you mind not running, we have more to tell you."

"Very well, I'll keep me self at bay, but when we're done, don't expect me to just hang around.

"We do. You know the location of the citizens of Warfang. That is something we cannot let get into the wrong hands. Sorry, but you're the one who insisted." Ezio said.

"A lesson I've learned. Very well, I'll go quietly, seeing as I don't have much choice. But a guardian? That is ridiculous! We haven't had guardians in over fifty thousand years!" Bane said, getting up as Ezio got off of him, sheathing his dagger as he sat back down.

"And? What was the previous light guardian's name?" Nova countered.

"Why it was No – awe snap. I shoulda seen that malarkey comin', are you tellin' me your fifty thousand years old? Ye look good for your age, miss!" Ezio hissed slightly, surprising even Nova, but Bane completely ignored it.

"It is because I have time traveled." Nova said, calmly eating her food.

"If you're from fifty thousand years in the past, then that means that – wait, you don – oh no, now that's stretching my imagination. You don't mean to tell me that the legendary Spyro has returned?"

"What else makes sense?" Nova said.

"Impossible." Bane looked at Ezio, who was only intent on his food. After a while, he looked up to see bane looking at him, as if he expected to confirm it. Ezio opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a loud shriek in the distance.

"Oh, crikey!" Bane said, jumping up. Before Nova and Ezio could stop him, he bolted for the door, saying behind him.

"Get under cover! He'll see us!" And with that, Bane ducked into the hatchway. Nova looked out, and her eyes widened.

"Oh no! Jeeves told me what he looked like! That's Smaug!" Nova said, turning to run, but Ezio grabbed her arm.

"If we run, then he'll know. We have to stop his doubting. Just trust me on this one." Ezio said, drawing her close and peering into her sky blue eyes.

"What are you proposing Ezi – " The remainder of her sentence was cut off, as Ezio pushed her ever so slightly back, and flattened his body against hers, kissing her deeply and passionately. Nova went to jerk away, but Ezio held her fast. It was almost too much for her when she heard Ezio's words echo in her mind.

"Just trust me."

And Nova lost herself in the embrace…


	15. Chapter 15

It took a bit for Ezio to realize why he had started to kiss Nova in the first place.

_Man, Spyro would kill me. They all would. Guess I better enjoy this while it lasts._

Nova wasn't going to let him get away with it that easy, as a second after they began, she clenched her teeth down hard on his tongue, drawing a small amount of blood. Ezio was almost trying to make her understand that they needed to make it convincing. When he still found her resisting, he grabbed her by the hand, and squeezed ever so slightly, and he found Nova relax into the gesture, and go with it. It was at that point she also surprised Ezio by snaking her tongue inside his mouth, almost tantalizing him into submission. Ezio had to hold himself back before he went any further.

_Easy Ezio, she's just a friend, and your both in a life threatening situation._

_Yeah, keep telling yourself that._ Ezio thought as Nova pushed harder, curling her tongue around his and pulling him inside her mouth. She was actually a bit more talented than he would have guessed.

_Has she done this before?_

Overhead, Ezio heard the screech of what Bane had said was Malefor's commander of the Shadow Forces in the field, and Malefor's second in command. Ezio could swear that he was homing in on them, and he could have sworn that he even heard the hiss of wings pass through the night as the dark creature flew overhead. Ezio was less worried about that though, and concentrating on the spectacular female in front of him, pressing herself against his chest, and feeling her body heat rise against the cold night air. Finally, the dark dragon above growled in frustration, and Ezio heard it turn north, away from the settlements inhabitants, and glide silently on an updraft. When all they could hear were crickets and the creaking of the tower in the wind, Nova finally withdrew.

"Wow, you're excellent at that Nova." He had said exactly the wrong thing, and Nova's next reaction was so swift and fast that when Ezio next looked up from the ground, the side of his face bleeding, Bane was restraining her.

"Goddamn, son of a bitch, shithead, mother fu – "

"Nova, what the hell?" Ezio said, getting up and pressing a napkin against the side of his face where Nova's sharp fingernails had left four bloody scratches on his face. She was still trying to get at him.

"Damn you, Ezio! Next time, if there is a next time, warn me of something like that, don't just assume I'm going to go along with it! What the hell were you thinking?" The dragoness shouted, shoving Bane away, and standing over Ezio, "And don't put so much into it either. Or else, I'm going to do something I regret!"

Ezio backed away before he said his next words, "So you did enjoy it?"

Nova lunged at him again, and Ezio found himself back on the ground, with Nova on top of him, gnashing with her teeth. She seemed to have forgotten that she wasn't a dragon.

"Ma'am! Restrain yee self!"

"Don't tell me what to do Bane!"

"Then I'll make yee do it! IF yee really are friends, then prove it! You should trust that he made the move to protect us, instead of to make a move on you! And Ezio! Show some respect to the lady! It's the least yee can do!" Bane said, shouting over both of them and silencing them. When Nova made for Ezio again, Bane stomped his foot into the ground, and both Ezio and Nova were locked into the stone beneath them, the gravity too heavy for them to lift themselves.

"NOW THAT'S ENOUGH SQUABLING! BOTH OF YEE! OR DO I HAVE THE CLAP THE TWO OF YEAH IN IRONS! ACT LIKE THE ADULTS YEE ARE!" Bane said. He released the both of them and Nova jumped up and stomped off to the trap door, kicking the wooden barricade open.

"Nova, 324 Rue de l'Amérique. The two of yee can bunk with me tonight. And don't be out too late, else I'll come lookin for yee meself." He said. Nova grunted to him, and then jumped down the door, landing with a loud thump on the level below. Ezio was still trying to stop the bleeding when he saw her down in the crowd below, running to the east.

"I would have stopped her, but she needs time to herself. And you need some medical supplies. Comeon, me place isn't far." The Irishman said, following Nova.

"Damn. I've never seen her that pissed before. I thought Frost might kill me before, but she nearly DID kill me. Why was she so ticked?" Ezio asked. Bane only smiled at him, ignoring the owner's exclamations as he handed the man a few coins.

"Ah, the complicated ways of a woman are hard to fathom, but you should be especially careful with a dragoness, as say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and they'll take your head off. Oh they might regret it dreadfully in the future, but they'll still do it." Bane said, as they arrived in front of the elevator.

"I'm gonna guess that's not a figure of speech. You speak from experience?"

"Its how me brother died. Come on, we best move quickly, before that rotten bastard comes back." Bane said, smiling wistfully. The express elevator had them at the bottom now.

"Your brother died like that?"

"Aye, he was told by me father that one of the best ways to enchant a lady is to surprise 'em. So what does thee moron do? He goes and pulls a practical joke, and it backfired in his face, specifically, the dragoness he tried to enchant was a firecracker she was, a Fire Dragoness. Anyways, one day, he jumps out and surprises her with a bouquet of flowers. She's so startled, she burns the bouquet to a crisp, as well as half me brother's face, and he dies from third degree burns not an hour later. Tragic, but the dragoness is happy now, and I'm sure that's what he would have wanted. A left here." Bane said, as they arrived at the end of a street. Banes home was down a few houses, on the third floor. The place wasn't opulent, but it had a spectacular view from both the second bedroom and the master suite as well, with the Eiffel Tower in the foreground, and the rest of Paris in the background. The entire trip hadn't taken them more than ten minutes in walking distance.

"Man, Bane, how did you get such an awesome place?" Ezio said, walking out onto the balcony. His thoughts though weren't on the excellent view.

"I know the right people. Hold still, this'll burn a bit." Bane said, dabbing the side of the humans face with alcohol, "Me ancestors, she really did a number on you, those are going to take a while to heal. MY guess is the reason that she struck you is because you pushed the wrong buttons. I don't think you came onto her, you just acted. Just like she did when she struck you. You just kept saying the wrong things."

"Ouch! Man, I thought she was pissed because I had actually kissed her. But she enjoyed it, so maybe she's mad at me because she liked the kiss. Or maybe she's more pissed at herself."

"It might be a combination of all three. Ezio, do you know anything about her past?"

"No, not much. All I do know is that she likes me as a friend, and that she has experienced a lot of pain."

"She hides it well then."

"So do the rest."

"The rest?"

"Bane, Nova is from the past, from Spyro's time. She is part of an elite squadron of dragons, named Alpha Squadron, whom are focused specifically on combat. Every dragon on that team has been or is a guardian. And Spyro leads them, with his second lieutenant being Cynder." Ezio said, getting it out.

"Cynder!"

"Yes why?"

"Ah, I would rather face the wrath of Zeus himself than ally with her! My feelings are, once a puppet of the Dark Master, always a puppet of the Dark Master." Bane said, shaking his head.

"I've met her, and she has changed."

"Forget that! If it wasn't for her, then this war would have ended long ago!"

"Belay that, she was under the Dark Master's control! You can't blame her for something she was never responsible for!"

"Aye, I do not blame her, but neither do I trust her either. You might, but I bet you still keep a close eye on her."

"Everybody watches everyone else's back." Ezio said. Some people he was against, but he would not tolerate slander against his friends.

"She isn't the dragon you've been told she is. She wants the dark master dead just as much as you or I or Spyro."

"Yeah, and they say Spyro's purpose was to destroy the world, which he supposedly completed his task."

"HE WHAT!" Ezio was beyond himself now.

"ARE YEE DEAF? HE DESTROYED THE WORLD!" Bane roared back, and he did indeed roar slightly. Outside, passerby's stopped to listen to the noise.

"OK, first off, shut the hell up, else someone's going to call the police. Second off, he isn't made to destroy the world!" Ezio said, in a calmer tone.

"OH, and do yee have proof of that?"

"Spyro couldn't destroy the planet, he's a good person."

"OH, shut yee yapper. Aye, a good person he might be, but just because someone is good does NOT mean their actions are as well. Sometimes we don't have a good or bad choice; we just have options that we must make a choice from." Bane said, turning to wash his hands of Ezio's blood. Ezio's head was now wrapped in white gauze.

"That's about the best I can do. Ye'll have to wait for time to take care of the rest." Bane said, not looking at Ezio, "I'm hitting the sake. Ye'll find a daybed in the spare bedroom."

"Wait, what about Nova? She could come back and kill me!"

"And good riddance. Your more trouble than yer worth, the both of ye. MY suggestion would to be to apologize profusely, and hope she spares ye. And if you leave, then don't expect me to stop her huntin' ye down. I'd rather live." Bane said, closing his door behind him. Ezio could have sworn he heard something like "Blasted humans" behind him, but said nothing about it.

"Damn dragons."

* * *

Nova plodded the streets undisturbed this time. She had no idea where she was going, but at the moment, she really didn't care. Where ever she was going, she trusted herself to get out of at some point. But right now, she didn't want to be disturbed at all. Scratch that. If Malefor's forces showed any of their faces, she would have more than enough pleasure in taking them out. She needed something to vent her anger on, to be able to put all her strength in. Unfortunately, all her strength could snap solid steel in half. She looked up, and was almost surprised at what was standing before her.

"Smaug." She said, allowing a savage grin.

"You're different than I imagined, Nova. I was told that you were soft, but you seem almost as malevolent as he is." The dark dragon said. It was dark, and Nova knew it was at least past midnight. Add on top of that that they were in the industrial area of the city, and all that surrounded them were cooling factories, and Nova knew that they had utter privacy.

"I'm feeling particularly rotten tonight, Smaug, and you just provided me the perfect punching bag."

"I am not as malleable as you might think." Smaug said, circling her. Nova simply stood still.

"You'll soon find out that I'm much more potent than you could possibly imagine."

"Spare me the monologue, and lets get to your funeral. Just imagine it! A big ol' herse, with tons of meth vials. The coffin bearers will be a group of elites, and most likely, there will be an entourage of Orcs, for a twenty one gun salute. Well, not a gun salute, but a firing squad. You get the point. And maybe even the big guy himself would even put in a couple words like 'He was OK. Coulda done better. Anyone want his position?' Hehe."

"Silence! I'll teach you, you insolent whelp!" And with that, the massive general lunged at the young dragoness. Right when he made contact, his claw sunk into her flesh. But instead of the splatter of blood, and the cry of agony he was expecting, he continued to travel forwards, sinking into the human like body, and bursting out of the other side, his nose plowing into the concrete. Nova only laughed as he picked himself up.

"Too easy. Simply too easy. I think I might have touched a nerve. Think about it Smaug. He doesn't care about you. There are a million other dragons that would rather have your place. Your expendable, and only your ghost will mourn your loss." Nova taunted, the area reflecting her voice in a million different directions. The apparent body of Nova split like an amoeba, into two Novas, and then four, and then eight, and ever doubling in amounts until a small crowd of Novas surrounded the dark dragon. All of them lifted their arms, pointing and laughing.

"Face it Smaug, you are doomed! You had best run while you still can!"

"I cannot run, and you know it!"

"Then you are already dead." Nova said, forming back into her original self, "You have options at your disposal, but in the end, you refuse to take them."

"That's because there are more than just me here."

"Of course. After fifty thousand years, you would have taken a mate by now. And you probably even have hatchlings."

"Least I have a family! Not even you can claim that! And they are safe!" Smaug said, smiling as he did so.

The image of Nova suddenly stopped laughing. And as the wind blew, her image faded from view, as if sand were flowing across a flat surface, being carried away by a ghost. Off in the distance, sobbing could be heard.

"Now who struck who's cords!" Smaug yelled in Nova's direction. All of a sudden, an enraged scream filled the area, and the room around Smaug dropped to pitch black, making the surrounding background and the city of lights fade from view, being replaced by nothing but a black maelstrom of pure black light, which emanated hatred from its very soul.

A semitransparent dragons head filled Smaug's view and no matter where he looked, all he saw was the spectral apparition.

"What is this foul magic?" Smaug yelled into the darkness.

"You struck a chord all right Smaug. You struck the wrong one! And now you will pay the price!" Came Nova's convoluted voice from the depths of the massive black cloud, "You shall be lost in the depths of darkness for all eternity now! You will pay the price for hurting innocent beings, and know their pain and torture for one thousand years! And no matter how you beg for mercy, you will not receive it! Wallow in your sorrow!"

Nova couldn't control herself. It was almost as if something had broken in half within her, and she wanted to stop the madness, but could not. What had started as a bit of harmless psychological warfare had turned into a curse beyond her control.

"No stop! This isn't the way I do things! I am a guardian, filled with light! I am everything except this monster! STOP!" At the last syllable, the cloud slowly faded from black to white, revealing the dragoness in a blinding halo of pure energy.

"Away with you foul beast! And may you never ever darken my mind again!" Smaug beheld the two of them, one the darkened apparition, cloaked in shadow, and the other filled with light. The first slowly began to fade, but it's words were ominous.

"You have not seen the last of me, vile one!"

"Uh huh, I'm sure, now get!" And the dark shadow disappeared in an explosive cloud that bent the chain link fences around them backwards. Nova turned to Smaug, whom was cowering with his paws over his head.

"Smaug, I would suggest you go, and do not confront me again. And work on escaping Malefor's grasp. I would hate to see you and your family come under the wrath of my claw." Smaug only mouthed a word, and then turned tail and ran so fast that he tripped and fell, crushing a small gate leading to a cluster of warehouses in the progress. Nova didn't see any of it though, as she was sitting on her haunches, her shoulders slightly shaking as she wept, staring out at the vast expanse of paris, and the Eiffel Tower in the center of the grand city.

"OH, Apollo, where did I go wrong?" Nova whispered to herself, as the night sky lazily spun above her.

* * *

Ezio awoke in the morning to find the human version of Nova leaning against the post of the balcony, silently watching the sunrise against the grand structure in the city center, which was casting a huge array of sparkling lights out over the slumber of early morning. Ezio was still a bit groggy as he spoke.

"Nova? When the hell did you get here?" The dragoness only remained silent. Ezio got up, his chest still bare, since in the middle of the night, it had gotten too hot for him to sleep with his shirt on. He walked up next to the dragoness.

"I'm sorry about what happened last – "

"Stop. Put it behind you and forget it. I'm sorry. I over reacted. Again."

"Are you upset with me?"

"A little, but not so much that it pushes everything else aside."

"It won't happen again."

"Shut up. I could care less if it does. But next time, if it does, I want my consent. Dragons do not take that kind of action lightly. You acted without thinking last night. We both did. The next time you make the same action, it should be for the right reasons."

"Got it. Will you be alright?"

"I – I'm OK. It's not like I haven't been through this before."

"OK, then you know me. I'm always here to listen. If you ever need a – "

"Damn you Ezio!" She said, half laughing half crying, leaning into his chest, "You always know how to get right into me! No matter how many defenses I put up, no matter how I brace myself, you wedge right through, and my emotions and guts spill out!"

"Nova! What are you talking abou - ?"

"Why am I fighting Ezio?" Ezio was at a complete loss of words at the question. He had always assumed that the dragons would continue fighting until the death, but having doubts about WHY you would do so means that you probably wouldn't go through with it.

"Um – "

"How did it come to this? It wasn't supposed to be like this! I had a family and a home! Yes it was young and somewhat fragile, but I was happy, and then one day, Malefor and his thrice cursed lieutenants come and rip EVERYTHING away! And now I'm left with nothing!" Nova cried.

"Whoa, whoa, hang on Nova. You do not have NOTHING. Look me in the eye!" Nova looked up agape, her eys streaming with tears. God, those eyes were incredible! They seemed to go on forever! "Look at me, and tell me you have nothing! You do not. You have someone who cares about you. Maybe not like a father, or mother or a sibling, but as a friend. A person whom would take a bullet for you! And I know you would do the same for me! And at the end of the day, when the wound is patched, and I'm looking down at you, or you at me, holding your paw, the only response would be 'It was nothing.' SO don't EVER tell me you have nothing! Got it?"

Nova simply clamped her mouth shut, and nodded her head, "I met my personal demon last night Ezio. Smaug confronted me."

Nova felt Ezio tense next to her, "He did no physical harm. But I nearly lost myself."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I nearly sentenced him to an eternity of torture."

Ezio's eyes went wide, "You can do that?" Nova only nodded.

"An element isn't a dragon's only control over magical energy. In extreme cases, where a dragon is pushed to their limits, their magical abilities go far beyond their current state, and sometimes it gets to be too much. I brought myself back from the brink."

"How?"

"I thought of whom I was. And you played a small role in it as well. I thought what would happen with you. If I had carried out with the action, then you most certainly would have turned your back on me. I couoldn't handle that. So I subdued my demon, and banished her."

"Her?"

"It's complicated."

"It sounds like it."

"At any rate, I saw myself from both sides. The dark side, and the light. And they both scared me." Nova finished, her tears renewing and she buried her head in Ezio's chest again.

"Nova, things might change, for the better or worse. But no matter what happens, I will ALWAYS be here for you."

"So I'm stuck with you? No matter how many times you try to get yourself killed?" Nova said, looking up and smiling.

"Fo life girl!" Ezio said. Nova just laughed, turning and leaning up against him as the sun continued to rise. Next to them, they heard Bane get up and head to the kitchen, and shortly later heard the radio switch on. Ezio almost smiled at the appropriateness of the song, "What I've done." By Linkin' Park. He felt no inclination to begin singing or dancing, and Nova simply just hummed along.

"We had better get ready." Ezio said.

"Right, I call the shower." Nova said smiling.

"Make sure to leave some hot water."

"You know I won't."

"You never do!" Ezio said, laughing. He turned around as Nova stripped down and grabbed a towel.

"On your right! Second door ma'am!" Bane called, walking into the room as Nova walked out, towel wraped tightly around her, "Breakfast?"

"No thank you bane. I'm too tired to be hungry."

"You chose a tough one Ezio."

"You don't know the half of it. I don't know the half of it!" Ezio said, picking up a slice of ham off the plate.

"Then luck to yee both." Bane said, walking out.

"Ye'll need it."

* * *

"You saw him?" Ignitus said, jumping to his feet, and then groaning with the suddenness of the action, "OH, ancestors, I shouldn't have done that. Spyro, where, when!"

"Smaug was heading south, towards New Warfang. It was what? Six in the morning, and the sun was just beginning to rise. It could have been a different dragon, but I seriously doubt it."

"As do I. This is bad. He might be heading to Malefor to report our position. IF that is indeed his intentions, then we must be ready to move at a moment's notice. Let's hope that Nova and Ezio will be back soon with transportation."

"I doubt that. I really don't think that the humans have anything that can transport the entire group at once. And I'm not leaving anyone behind." Spyro said.

"Then we will simply have to take things as they come. The next twenty-four hours could determine ALL our lives."

* * *

"Mass transportation, eh? I have just the thing for ye. Let's hope we can get our hands on it though." Bane said.

"OK, so what is it?" Ezio asked, following him through the crowd. Bane only smiled back at him. The gravity dragon lead him through the swirling mass of tourists, past the Eiffel tower, and deeper into the city. They soon came to the commercial complex. Ezio recognized the Louvre, a hyper advanced economical building serving as an art and exposition building. Other towers were more cutting edge than the rustic historic district they had just come from. Finally, Ezio heard the roar of an aircraft overhead, and found himself at the entrance to the large tarmac area of the Paris International airport, where scores of hangers lined a massive main runway on either side, with dozens of jumbo jets taking off and landing simultaneously. Bane stopped at the gate, and pointed at a massive blimp like craft.

"That's what we'll be lookin' for." He said, "One of the first of its class, the P-160, a heavy load lifter. Ain't she a beauty."

"It's a blimp!" Nova said, her mouth agape.

"No, it's not, it's an airship." Ezio said, stepping forwards. The massive craft loomed over the smaller jumbo jets. An Airbus A380 passed by, casting it's shadow on the bridge of the craft. It was barely a fifth of the airships height.

"Even better, she is a hybrid airship, and a commercial one at that." Bane said.

"Meaning?" Nova said, cocking an eyebrow. She was incredibly skeptical, "It doesn't even look like it could fly. There are no wings, and airships didn't carry a huge amount of people or passengers, as most of their bulk was needed for gas to lift the structures."

"A hybrid air ship is different. I remember hearing about the prototype. It can carry what? Twenty M1A1's? It could definitely fit the entire village in its bulk. And it's commercial? That means we might be able to purchase it." Ezio said, "Come on, let's talk to the owners."

* * *

"Well, now that were packed, all we have to do is wait." Spyro said, lying down in the grass. Around him, most of the village was simply sitting about with packs or supplies lying about in large bundles. Alpha squadron was enjoying the temporary peace that they could get. Frost had dragged out the chess set that had come from Ezio's home, and had challenged Quake to a game, which he had accepted enthusiastically. Many of the villagers were crowded around watching their epic struggle, making occasional exclamations as one of the combatants took a certain piece. Spyro and Cynder were sun bathing in the setting sun, and Blaze had engaged in a wrestling match with several of the children. He found himself quickly becoming overpowered by the many small arms legs hands and paws that were struggling to get an upper hand on him. Eclipse had finally come back with many bandages, but she was otherwise ok, and Thunder hadn't left her side since her return. Presently, she reached up and licked the Electricity Guardian across the nose, and he returned the affection with a powerful nuzzle under her chin. Eclipse suddenly jumped up and ran a short ways away, Thunder looking on bewildered.

"Come on slow poke! Try and catch me! I could use the exercise!" And she ran over the nearest hill, towards the edge of the trees and Paris. Spyro looked up with worry, and went to stop them, but Cynder cracked an eye, and skewered the ground directly in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.

"If you even set a thought on them in the next few hours, I'll kill you myself." She said, with a slight smile, "Let them go and enjoy themselves. Ancestors know we could use some more love around here."

Spyro looked a bit anxious, but chuckled, and settled back down onto the ground, "I guess I'm outmatched here."

"You better believe it."

* * *

"Eclipse? Oh come on! Seriously? This isn't cool." Thunder called out to the dusk around him in the trees. Eclipse had long since used her shadow element to become all but invisible. Thunder heard some rustling behind him, and twirled around just in time to see a silver tail blade disappear from view.

"Playing hard to get, eh? Tell me if I'm getting warmer."

"Anything but toots." Eclipse's voice sounded like she was right next to him and Thunder pounced on the spot, getting nothing but a mouth full of dirt. He stood up, spitting out the foul tasting crunchiness. Thunder saw a bit of the rising moon glint off of a surface nearby, and ran towards the source. Whatever the object was, it kept ahead of him by about a foot, tantalizing him, but always staying within reach. Finally, Thunder broke out of the forest, and was nearly blinded by Paris's twinkling lights.

"Wow." He barely got the word out before he was tackled from behind. Eclipse and Thudner twirled end over end in a heap of claws, wings and tails, and finally came to stop halfway down the large hill on a small level precipice, Thunder right on top of Eclipse.

"Well, that was fun. How do you always end up on top, Thunder?" Eclipse asked, throwing him a sly grin.

"Ummm. A low center of gravity?" Eclipse only laughed.

"So now you have a sense of humor?" Eclipse asked, teasing him.

"No, it just decided to come out and play." Thunder said, smiling.

"That's not the only thing that wants to have some fun." Eclipse said, leaning upwards and kissing the glowing dragon. The gesture must have lasted at least fifteen seconds.

"Mmmm. Slightly spicy, with a hint of cinnamon?" Thunder said, Eclipse only laughed and punched him on the shoulder, "You know Spyro's going to kill us?"

"Forget him and his stupid rules. I'd rather enjoy life while we're still both alive." Eclipse said, rolling her eyes.

"And what about the future? What if something happens?" Thunder asked, worriedly.

"Consequences be damned." Eclipse said, pushing Thunder on his shoulder for him to roll over. Thunder obliged, and Eclipse began rubbing her stomach scales against his, slowly at first, but increasing the tempo gently. Thunder could feel his adrenaline release involuntarily, and his heartbeat increase…

* * *

"What is your plan, sir?" Smaug asked, as he trotted alongside the massive dark dragon.

"This new dark side is worrisome, Smaug. Despite the fact that she might have acted like I would have, she still wouldn't ally herself with me, and that could create a very dangerous enemy. Your lucky to be alive." The massive Dark Master said, walking towards the edge of the cliff and looking out over the battle damaged forest, and the seas beyond. He had found the massive chamber, with it's double entrances, and it's excellent view, plus its location right beneath the armory to be perfect as a command post.

"I realize that, sir." Smaug said, looking out with his commander.

"We want to keep any of them from getting into this more powerful state. And I think I might have under-estimated them. All of them, especially that puny human that rides with the one you encountered. He has been a particularly big thorn in my side." The purple dragon said, "Gather your ten best lieutenants. We move at midnight, so that we may strike before dawn. And Smaug? Next time, I want the head of that dragoness on a silver platter. No mistakes or you will know my wrath."

Smaug stopped, his eyes going wide, and then bowed low to the back of his "Master", "As you wish, my lord. What shall I do with the human?"

"Bring him to me alive. He must know much about the Squadron, and I would like to interrogate him. I might even have a use for him. Do not kill him, or Spyro and Cynder. Those two are mine." The legendary creature said.

"Aye sir. Fly safe." The master only ignored the comment.

"Here I come brother." Malefor said, clenching his paw into a fist as he stared at the blood red sky.


	16. Chapter 16

"Well, that finally happened." Thunder said, as Eclipse lay across his chest, staring up at the sky, "Now we die."

"Oh, please. Stop worrying so much. I seriously doubt Spyro will do anything. And if he does, then Cynder will probably castrate him while he sleeps." Eclipse said, smiling as she watched the twinkling lights of Paris below. The yellowish glow shined off her eyes as Thunder looked down at her.

"By the ancestors, Eclipse, do you have any idea how gorgeous you look?" Thunder said, smiling and nuzzling the shadow dragoness.

"Awe, I love ya too sweetheart." Eclipse said, nuzzling back.

"Sweetheart? That sounds odd coming fro – "

"Hang on a second." Eclipse said, perking her head up. Nothing returned but silence.

"What is it?"

"I could've sworn I heard – "She was cut off by a loud unearthly screech, "Shit!"

The couple jumped up and Eclipse took the lead, guiding Thunder back through the dark forest to the camp. Behind them, the roaring, and the now normal audible flapping was increasing in volume.

"Quickly, Eclipse." Thunder said behind the dragoness. The two weaved through the trees with adrenaline still pumping through their veins. Eclipse was nothing more than an off black shadow in the dark, hanging just ahead of the Electric guardian, as he panted trying to keep up.

The two burst into the camp, where the village was struggling to stay awake around innumerable camp fires. Spyro looked up as the two guardians burst through the trees.

"Spyro! Attack!" Thunder wheezed as he came to a stop. Eclipse collapsed at his feet. The flapping was starting to increase in volume. Cynder got up and looked at Eclipse.

"6, you have something on your muzzle. 5, what is it?" Cynder asked. Eclipse looked down, and glad it was dark out, as her face went beat red, and she licked the fluid from around her mouth.

"Your pardon lead, 2. Somehow Smaug has found our location. The sound suggests that it's more than just him." The sound was now increasing in volume, and they could now feel vibrations in the air as the dragons beat their wings.

"CRAP! Cynder! Evac the refugees. Alpha squadron! Arise, and on me! May you fight with honor!" Spyro shouted above the din as the villagers started rushing about, "We need to hold out until Ezio and Nova return!"

"And how the hell are we supposed to do that? They left yesterday; they could be gone for another six days!" Blaze said, stepping up beside Spyro, and taking the first massive black dragon that materialized in front of them. The dragons themselves began appearing all around the camp grounds. They seemed ignorant of the various species, and seemed to only focus on the dragons. With the surprise attack, several dragons fell, instantly slain where they had lain resting. Several more were overwhelmed by the sheer force of the attack, being swarmed by three or four shadow dragons. Spyro was so intent on his target that he failed to notice the massive purple dragon. Smaug himself was claw to claw with both Spyro and Cynder, and giving ground.

"Lead! 2! Behind you!" Frost shouted as she saw Malefor approaching them, and she was quickly swatted aside as a giant black dragon with bloody intent in its eyes swatted her across the ground.

"Rah! Pest!" Malefor shouted, and he shot a short burst of convexity, which thankfully missed Frost by a hairsbreadth as she dodged. Spyro and Cynder, whipped around, standing back to back so they could fight both dragons simultaneously, the master and lieutenant.

"3, 4. Help Cynder. 5, 6. With me. If they get to be too much, disengage. Ancestors are with you." Spyro said, as the massive Dark Master approached.

"If? The question is not if, young fool, but when." Malefor said as he approached the legendary dragon, "Tell me, I hope this time your friends know of yours and Cynder's tail. They at least deserve to know that much if you're willing to lead them so blindly into battle."

"The entire squadron is aware of Cynder and mines past. That bush has been beaten and burnt, Malefor, so there is no point in attacking me from that angle." Spyro said, crouching low.

"Oh really? Do they know of your purpose on this planet then? What the two of you were made to do? Your purpose young dragon was told in the prophecy, except it was hidden from view, placed behind the scenes, for fear of causing mass panic and disorder." Malefor said, grinning evilly. While the younger guardians were crouched in readiness, Malefor showed no signs of attacking, and the lack of scuffling behind Spyro told him that subconsciously, Malefor had also told Smaug to stand down. Spyro leaned back slightly, relaxing. He whispered into Cynder's ear, and when he had gotten the message to her, he made the signal to the rest of his group.

"They are aware that despite the fact that my purpose may have been to destroy the world, it is not anymore. I was born to counter your power, to balance nature out, and as such, my greater goal in life is to do the exact opposite, and save the world." Spyro said.

"Ah, indeed, your purpose might be to balance my powers out, and if that were so, then we shall always be stuck in an epic stalemate scenario for the rest of time, and in that way you shall still destroy the world through the aftermath of our wars. Have I not told you? You have carried out your purpose willingly or not." Malefor said, advancing.

"Your suggestion presents a no end scenario. Something I do not believe in. Neither of us are immortal, as all things must come to an end at some point, and thus at some point there will be peace, even if it means my death." Spyro countered, "You're fighting a losing battle, Malefor. You've already seen my choice, as well as Cynder's. So why do you hold back?"

"It is because he is afraid!" Ignitus said. Malefor leaned to the side, and looked back over his shoulder, and Spyro could see Ignitus approaching from behind. Behind the fire guardian were a small group of fighting dragons, some black, and quite a few of them other colors, which were lying on the ground, wounded or slain. Frost shuffled her feet, but remained where she was, as she knew her duty. The squabbling group was slowly moving towards them, as the allied group of dragons was giving ground.

"Alpha squad disperse. Cynder, stay here, watch my back." Spyro said, seeing the scene before them. Each dragon had a role, and this time, winning wouldn't be tough with the guardians. Frost took off for the nearest wounded comrade, and Quake and Blaze began using their powers to close in on the group quickly. Thunder and Eclipse split off the sides, and snuck around to flank the enemies.

"I'm afraid? You're the ones whom should be afraid!" Malefor said, his eyes bulging slightly. Spyro could have sworn he saw the dragon panic for a second, but the Dark Master quickly controlled himself.

"OH, dear brother. One thing has always been certain about you. You have always been afraid of death. You see, we have no fear of death, me Spyro, and the rest of New Warfang. And therefore, we do not fear you." Ignitus said, drawing abreast of his sibling.

"Wait, brother?" Spyro said, cocking his eyebrow at Ignitus.

"You haven't told them? You mean they do not know of our relationship. Brother indeed! You are no brother of mine!" Malefor went to lash out at Ignitus, but never met his target, as Ignitus disappeared the second Malefor began moving.

"Blast you, Ignitus!" Malefor screamed into the night, "You can run, but I will get you for the pain you caused me and my love!"

"Wait, love?" Cynder said.

"It is none of your business!" Smaug said from behind Spyro.

"Indeed. If he deems it appropriate to run like a coward, then cowards are you all. And a coward's death you shall have!" And the massive dragon lunged at Spyro. Behind him, Smaug gave his steely screech, and lunged at Cynder.

"NOW!" Spyro bellowed, and he and Cynder lunged into the air, vaulting over the two dark dragons, and the two collided beneath them in a maelstrom of claws and teeth. Spyro and Cynder looped over, and in a burst of convexity slammed down on top of the two.

In the center of the mass of dark dragons, and the village's warriors, Ignitus, whom was flanked by the now patched up Beam and Photon was carving a deep path through the enemies. The sporadic flash of blinding light and cries of agony coming from the area of the two light dragons was matched only by Ignitus, whom would disappear for a couple of seconds, and a specific dragon whom had been hassling many others was suddenly dead, punctuated only by the pop as Ignitus slowed time back down to normal and reappeared in the world, several yards away. Ignitus didn't stop until he felled a particularly large dragon, and turned to see the mayhem he had created. To his dismay, he heard in the distance a low hum.

"Beam! Photon! We'll have more company soon! On me, we'll meet them in the sky!" And the three lunged off the ground, pumping their wings hard to gain altitude and speed. Below, Ignitus could see Malefor and Spyro duke it out, their match being interrupted by small flashes of convexity. Cynder herself was battling Smaug, whom was putting up an incredibly good fight against the much smaller purple dragon. Ignitus turned his attention to the source of the humming, and yanked backwards, bringing his bulk to a stop, and hovering in midair, as he gapped at the sight before him.

"By our ancestors!" Ignitus exclaimed, staring up at the mass in front of him.

* * *

"I said, will you take two million for it?" Ezio pushed at the supervisor of FedEx Overseas whom stood in front of him. The man was short and fat, and had the largest beer belly Ezio had ever seen. However, when he spoke, he had a very smooth voice, and a distinct French accent.

"And I said no. Take it as it is, you would have to pay for my retirement and the airship by at least two times before I accepted." The man said, returning Ezio's icy gaze. The man had laughed at first; he hadn't expected anyone to approach him with such a request. But after Ezio had persisted, he had gotten the idea that the foolish American was serious.

"Then I have no choice but to go to plan B. Can we step into your office?" Ezio said. The man considered him.

"Very well. We shall debate this." The man said, and opened a side door. As soon as everyone was inside, Ezio locked the door.

"Wait, what are you doing?" The man said.

"Seriously, sir, I would offer more, but the accounts have been changed, and I can no longer get more money. How much did the airship cost?" Ezio asked. Nova crouched down and punched through the interior wall, grabbing a fist full of wires. The man made an exclamation, but Ezio drew the one shot Glock he had grabbed.

"I need that airship, and I'm willing to do everything, short of kill you to get it. Don't make me get drastic. I'm also willing to offer up to ten million." Ezio said.

"You've already shown me the two million you had, where are you going to get more?"

"I'll hack my dad's account. It's not impossible, I'll just need some time, but we need that airship, TODAY. I'm willing to do so, and make you one of the biggest men in your company, and set you up for life with retirement funds. IF ten isn't good enough, then fifty should be correct?"

"Fifty would pay for five more airships! And no one man has that much money!" The officer said.

"My dad does. He is vice president of Sony. Trust me; he has a lot of money." Ezio replied.

"Then why are you in rags? And why are you threatening me?" The man said.

"I and my friends have been traveling long and hard, and our group requires a new mode of transportation. Our size makes us far too big to travel by foot as it would take months to get to our destination." Ezio said, "We are refugees."

"Since when do refugees go to the largest shipping company in the world for help? And refugees from where?" The man said.

"The question is not from where, but from what. Now then, we are willing to pay you fifty million dollars, two million now." Nova said, standing up, "And don't bother with security. We'll be long gone before they could ever get to us. And we'll take the airship with us."

"Fine. But I want ten million now." The man said, "Otherwise, no deal, you steal it. If you think you can fly it."

"We'll learn on the go. Agreed, ten million now. The money will be on the desk in an hour. I want the title now."

"No way, I would be a fool to give it to you now." The man said, backing up, as Ezio advanced, gun pointed at the man.

"You would be a fool not too." Ezio said menacingly.

* * *

"Whoo ee! I've never seen a man so nervous before."

"The man has no courage. It doesn't reflect badly on him though. He was a business man, not a soldier." Nova said behind Ezio, whom held the title clutched in his hand, "Ezio, we don't have ten million to give him."

"He didn't specify what he wanted the ten million in. I hate to jip him like that, as it would get him fired, but I see no other way. Excuse me?" Ezio stopped a man who was walking by, carrying a large shipping container, "What is the name of the manager here?"

"Mr. Giovanni? Yeah, Varbisk Giovanni. He Russian." The man said in a very thick accent, "I'm sorry my English not good. Tough school."

Ezio handed the man a twenty, "Thank you, sir."

"Why did you want to know his name?" Nova asked.

"To give him the remaining two million. I'll simply add on eight million more. If he has any mind, he won't tell anyone about the title, and keep the two million for himself. He'll report that the airship was stolen. But when the authorities catch up, we have the title to get them off our backs." Ezio explained, "I already have an envelope, all we need is eight million of something else to stuff in there."

"Great, so now were extortionists. Now what?" Nova asked.

"I might have an idea, Ezio. Simply leave him ten million pennies. That's ten thousand dollars in itself." Bane suggested.

"Yeah, except ten thousand wouldn't be easy to transport. We need something small, or something that leads to ten million of something." Nova said.

"Don't worry, I have a better idea." Ezio said. Half an hour later, the envelope was on the desk, with ten million dollars worth of monopoly money inside.

* * *

One hour later, Ezio stood at the bridge to the airship, listening to a man explain in tough French how to fly the beast he was at the controls of. Bane was translating, as he was fluent in French.

"He says, it's got a very fat ass. Basically, it needs small inputs, and it takes a while to stop moving. Stall speed is low, thirty miles per hour. She can land vertically though, but it's an STO craft. You need about five hundred feet to get her off the ground. The exterior is made of Kevlar, wrapped on an aluminum frame. The entire command structure is supposed to work like the bridge of a ship. It can stay aloft for up to one hundred hours, after which it must refuel and resupply. Max cruise is three hundred miles per hour. Perfect cruise is two hundred and seventy five. Max speed is three hundred and fifty. Um, what? OH! Gross takeoff weight is. Wait, what? Combien? Deux mille tonnes? Crap, two thousand tons. But from what he says, he's carried twice that much." Bane finished. The man threw a salute to both Ezio and Bane, and then bowed to Nova, surprising the dragoness, but she surprised Ezio more by doing a very clean curtsy, after which the man walked off the bridge.

"Nova, how much room do we have?" Ezio asked.

"Ezio, I'm going by average weight of a human. If what he says is true, then we could carry twenty five thousand humans and not even break a sweat. We'll probably have to compensate though. And since this thing isn't maneuverable, it's a point and fly machine. Climb to altitude, point towards your destination, and fly straight.

"Bane, what's the vehicle's max altitude?"

"Twenty five K, but he suggested twelve point five, since the atmosphere is lower. It's not air tight, nor is it pressurized. From what I can tell, it's perfect. If we over inflate it, and then use the thrust fans to provide partial lift, she should be nice and light on her feet, even fully loaded. He also mentioned that the craft has Omni-directional radar, which is convenient." Bane said, looking over the electronic counsel, "She has everything to operate properly. Looks like it's even fully fueled, which means no stops on our way to our destination."

"Yeah, providing the authorities don't catch up to us, which they will. We need some sort of defense." Ezio said, "Which we have none of."

"I might have a good defense, but we need to get to it as soon as possible. We need to get back to the village, and get them in the air." Nova said, pressing a couple of buttons, and the consoles lit up, and Ezio was presented with a slight whirring that continuously decreased in pitch as time went on..

"OK, what's your idea?" Ezio asked, looking at her. Nova only smiled.

"You'll see."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Ezio pressed two buttons, and then uncovered a switch next to the pilot's throttles, and he was presented with a huge roar, as the forward turbines started up. Bane ran over, and grabbed three headsets, tossing one to Nova, and one to Ezio, and jamming the last over his head. Ezio heard his voice come over the radio.

"Sorry, shoulda warned you." Bane said, smiling apologetically.

"WOW!" Nova said, clamping the headphones closer to her ears, "THAT'S a lot of power."

"Time to see if she'll fly." Ezio said. The Frenchman had already explained the controls, which included dual throttles. The twist on the sticks controlled the pitch of the motors, while left and right controlled the turning. Pushing forwards and backwards controlled the thrust on the engines. One throttle controlled two engines, the fore and aft on their respectful sides. Ezio currently twisted the throttles till the engines were pointing directly downwards, and then eased both forwards until the craft jiggled slightly, and then began to slowly rise. Ezio pushed the craft a bit more, and they shot into the sky.

"Forget S/TOL! It's a V/TOL! Man he wasn't kidding when he said she has a fat ass!" Ezio said, laughing.

"Ezio! I'm zooming in on beam and photons signals! Bearing 176." Nova said.

"Make it so number one." Ezio replied, smiling. Nova laughed, and punched a couple of buttons, bringing up a holographic display on the windscreen. The entire HUD was quite impressive, having four full multifunction displays, as well as a 3D terrain map.

"Wow, impressive. This has everything. Much better than that old B-17." Ezio said.

"Too bad we couldn't buy it." Nova said.

"We did, not just legally." Ezio said, smiling back at her. Overall, the craft liked to drift a lot. Ezio was impressed at the massive ducted fans, and found that as they accelerated, the vehicle seemed to drift about, as if riding on water. Slowly, Ezio leveled the engines out to full aft thrust, and then began to push forwards. Ezio spotted what looked to be an old stereo system off to the side of the console, and turn the volume till it clicked. He was almost amazed to hear "Slow ride" blaring over the speakers.

"Aya! What is this crazy music? Turn it off! It's hurtin' me ears!" Bane complained.

"No, don't. You get used to it Bane." Nova said, smiling at the old dragon.

"Used to it my scaly butt! Gimmee some Dubliner songs." Bane complained. Almost on cue, the track stopped playing, and in its place was "Foggy dew."

"Unbelievable! It can even read minds! Well done old girl." Bane said, patting the aircrafts dash.

"Right. Hvadia, here we come." Ezio said, settling back in his chair.

* * *

"What on earth is that?" Ignitus yelled above the turbines. From the cockpit, he could see Ezio waving enthusiastically, and then punch a button. An external ramp lowered, and Ezio slowed the ship down. Finally, he rotated the craft, so that it was flying backwards, and the ramp was facing in the direction it was flying. All three dragons pushed themselves onto the ramp, and made their way inside. The bridge was right in front of them, so not much of the ship was explored.

"Ezio! I thought Spyro and Cynder liked showing off, but you just took the cake and ate it! Well done! I'd love to give more praise, but we are in the middle of a battle right now." Ignitus said. Nova jumped up in exclamation.

"What! What about Malefor? IS he - ?"

"He is present. Spyro and Cynder are holding off both him and Smaug. Right now, we need to start moving, they may let us go. Ezio, we need you to land by the villagers, get them on board." Ignitus said.

"Aye, mighty chronicler. We will need two dragons to help guide us in though, as we need someone to nudge us into place. Would you two be able to help?" Bane asked, pointing at beam and photon.

"Who might you be, friend?" Ignitus asked.

"He's with us, Ignitus. We'll also need guards. Photon and Beam can't run double duty. Two ice dragons will work perfectly." Ezio said.

"Ignitus! Spell gone now! I'll take Frost's place!" Ignitus waved a paw, and Nova began to rise in height, her shoulders widening into wings, and her nose elongating into a muzzle, a feral snarl on her face. All four dragons turned, and Nova leading them leapt off the platform that was still open behind them. Nova went luminous, and shot off towards the ensuing fight. Photon and Beam took up flanking positions on either side of the craft, watching the massive blind spots. Ignitus flew up in front of the cockpit and beckoned with his paw, leading them towards the villagers. Ezio eased the massive craft forwards. It was only about five hundred yards before Ezio saw the swirling mass of panicking creatures on the ground. Ezio again twirled the craft around, and pointed the massive ducted fans downwards, to ease the crafts descent rate.

Normally, ropes were lowered from the cabin to guide the craft in to its landing zone, but time was of the essence, so beam and photon hovered next to the craft, shoving on its massive gas envelopes. The craft slowly lowered into position, its ramp resting about a full three inches off the grass. Ignitus landed, and shouted at the crowd, and people started to board the craft quickly.

"Bane, close the door to the bridge, when everyone is onboard, I need you to go up to the passengers and call for anyone that can help fly this beast to come to the bridge. We only need about seven or eight people. Tell the warriors to head to the access hatches, and arm weaponry, and shoot at anything that attacks. Tell them to make sure they hit enemies." Frost, and another male Ice dragon set down in front of them, and Frost smiled at Ezio, who smiled back, and saluted. Frost returned the gesture. About half a minute later, several humans flooded into the bridge.

"I need the best pilot here to take the helm. Military experience preferred. Bane, hop on coms, and set in through craft wide speakers to buckle in. It's gonna be a bumpy ride. Crew, you will now refer to me as captain. Bane you are excused from such gestures. Note that the motion is not to belittle, but to create order. You will be referred to by your station. Electronics, plot a course to New Hvadia, maximum cruise, steer us clear of any storms or obstructions, ignoring massive population centers. Now that we have a better craft, we can go wherever we want. Coms open up a system with Cynder, make sure she knows to prepare everyone, and tell her we are on our way. Helm, take us out, maximum down thrusters, adjust course to zero two zero, dead for the fight. Security, notify guards that we have incoming, set anyone with magical abilities to shield tasks, have them stop any incoming fire. Hop to it, on the double!" And the words aye captain sprang throughout the bridge. The craft shuddered slightly, and then accelerated into the air. Frost and the other ice dragon helped Beam and Photon guide the craft out of the dense cluster of trees, and the field they had landed in. The bridge was ablaze with action. When the craft reached one hundred feet, Ezio sent a pointed finger at the helm, and the pilot looked out the window, and gave a double thumb up at Frost, whom promptly cleared the crafts turning circle. Ezio saw Beam and Photon cross out in front of the craft, and the craft began to rotate, turning on the spot. Bane looked over and smiled at Ezio.

"Turns on a dime she does, eh?" Ezio laughed.

"That she does." Ezio said. The craft edged forwards, and all four dragons outside took escort positions. In front of the airship, Ezio could see small flashes from the battle.

"Security, two warriors to the ramp, guard the way in at all costs. We just got this thing; I don't want to lose it." Ezio said. The man at the security station started speaking into the microphone quickly and a short while later, Ezio heard rushing footsteps, and then the exterior noise roared again as the ramp was opened. The pilot was taking the ship in at an angle to keep it moving while they skimmed along the ground slowly, so that their take off time was as short as possible. Ezio saw a mass of dragons running towards them, with Spyro at the rear, along with the rest of alpha squadron fighting against a hoard as Malefor shouted orders over the roar of battle. There was a short pause, and then dragons began leaping onto the ramp, Ignitus leading them. There were a great many scampering feet, and then Spyro and the rest of Alpha squadron leapt onto the ramp, still fighting off the lieutenants. Several shields were cast up in front of them, deflecting the main bulk of firepower. Anything that got through was quickly squelched by Ignitus's magical forces. Ezio nodded at the helm, and the pilot pushed the throttles all the way forward, and then flipped two covers on top of the sticks, exposing two large buttons marked boost, which the pilot promptly hit simultaneously, and the engines volume swelled, as the craft lurched forwards.

"Navigation, project coordinates for the helm to align to. Helm, New Hvadia, maximum thrust. Give it your all!" Ezio said. The craft continued to climb as Ezio felt slight shudders from the enemy fire. The dragons seemed to have an easier time in holding off the enemy from the ship. Quite suddenly, the shuddering stopped, and Ezio heard a cheer rise up below them, overwhelming even the engines that hummed next to the bridge. Nova ran onto the bridge, a slight gash on her shoulder, but otherwise unharmed.

"We did it! Their turning back!" Nova exclaimed. A cheer rose up on the bridge. Ezio jumped up.

"Are you sure Nova?" Ezio asked, eyeing the dragoness.

"Yeah! Even the big guy himself turned around!" Nova said, but she slowed as she neared the end of the sentence.

"Why?"

Ezio didn't reply. Instead, he bounded out of the bridge and onto the platform, spreading his feet wide for balance. The craft was still rising, and it was getting progressively colder. Spyro and Cynder were still staring out at the retreating shadow forces, but Flame was bounding around and Quake gave a high five to Thunder, whom was quickly distracted by Eclipse, who turned the Electric Guardians head towards hers, and kissed the guy full on the mouth, surprising everyone except Spyro and Cynder.

Ezio approached the two purple dragons. As the craft reached twelve thousand feet the engines turned full aft and throttled down, to save fuel. Ezio could again hear over the engines as they settled into a quiet hum.

"IS he really gone, Spyro?" Ezio asked. All of a sudden, his question was answered when only Malefor turned around, and began flapping wildly, gaining with the craft at an increasingly rapid speed.

"Alpha Squad! Back to arms!" Spyro said, and charged up a convexity blast, with Cynder doing the same alongside him.

"Who touched my gun?" Ezio shouted over the din. Meadow, the Atlawa ran up, holding an assault rifle and carrying Ezio's sniper rifle.

"Thank you Meadow." Ezio said, leveling the rifle towards the ground, and sliding the bolt back to reveal the freshly loaded chamber. The bullets were explosive types.

"That's gonna pack a punch." Ezio said to himself. Behind them, Malefor was holding position just outside firing range.

"Ignorant, arrogant bastard. What's he doing?" Nova said, taking up position alongside Ezio.

"It's not taunting, we would know if it was, as he would dive in and out of range. I think he intends to follow us." Cynder said.

"I agree. There is no other option, unless he is waiting for us to let our guard down, which will not happen." Spyro said.

"We could intercept him lead." Nova said.

"No, hold position. If we leave, that leaves the craft and village exposed. We can do nothing. We could try shooting but that would only succeed in getting us in trou – "Spyro's sentence was cut off as Ezio knelt down on one knee, leveling his rifle with the dark dragon.

"Ezio, there is no way you can – "

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do, Spyro." Ezio said as he adjusted the sights on the scope. Ezio then turned halfway to Nova, "I need his exact range."

"About two miles. Ezio – "

"Exact, Nova. Use a range finding laser." Nova focused on the dark master.

"Exactly ten thousand four hundred and twenty two feet, three inches. He's constantly moving, so it's a bit inaccurate, but that's the best you're going to get." Nova said, cocking an eyebrow.

Ezio's only response was the two loudest shots Nova had ever heard. The round, which had a tracer built in, arced through the night. Malefor rolled to avoid the first shot, but when he leveled out there was a loud explosion, and a part of the tip of his wing was ripped off, blood trailing off into the night. Malefor roared in pain, and his left wing tipped down, losing a bit of lift and causing him to involuntarily roll and lose altitude. The dragon tried to maintain altitude twice, but eventually broke off the chase, diving down into the night. Both Spyro and Cynder exhaled when he was out of sight.

"Holy crap!" Blaze said, "You actually hit! Ezio that was an incredible shot!"

Ezio only stared off into the dark, and muttered under his breath, "Good night, ya bastard." And he turned around, yanking the barrel off. Inside, he could see the fragments of a shell.

"That's what I thought. That second blast was so loud; I knew one of the shells exploded inside. That second round came out damaged." Ezio said.

"It what?" Nova said, "You hit a target with a volume of a large car at a range of two miles, in the dead of night, on a moving platform, with a moving target, with an explosive round, with a damaged barrel? Ezio, how much luck was involved in that shot?"

"About ninety five percent of it was luck." Thunder replied, "Also that was the longest shot in the entire history of, well, forever. Nobody has ever made a shot like that. Ezio, you could be known as the best gunman alive if you spread the word."

"That's bragging, something I don't do. If you don't mind, I'm going to sleep. I'm beat." Ezio replied, yanking the barrel off the gun.

"Yeah, me too. G'night guys." Nova said, following Ezio. Frost landed just as she left.

"What was it that chased him away? All I heard was a quiet bang, and then his left wing exploded." Frost said. She followed Blazes still awed expression, and saw Ezio just disappear with Nova by his side.

"No way! He made that?" Frost said with incredulity.

"Indeed. That was one hell of shot." Quake said. Spyro just shook his head.

"I don't think even I could have made a shot like that. Maybe if I were given several tries, but I would lose strength after the first or second. Holding a bolt of energy at that range is too tough. It's like trying to throw the entire airship. Cynder, come on, we need to develop some things for the craft, and then we'll hit the sack. Alpha squad, retire to your quarters, get some rest. We finally threw them off." Spyro said, rubbing his forehead in exhaustion.

"Aye, sir. Let's hope we can rest for a while." Quake muttered.

Cynder remained at Spyro's side, "Now what Spyro?"

A crack of lightning in the distance punctuated the mood, as a gust of wind picked up and ruffled Spyro's head crest as he stared towards the retreating skyline of Paris, and the Eiffel Tower.

"Full steam ahead."


	17. Chapter 17

"Ah, man, it feels so good to have my wings back!" Nova said, as both she and Ezio lay down in the corner of the massive airships cargo hold. The conditions on board were cramped, and very noisy, but not overly so. Ezio smiled at the white dragoness as she stretched the membranes to their maximum span, which grew over twenty-five feet wide. Many creatures had to duck their heads as the sharpened leading edge bones swung over them.

"Careful, Nova. You don't want to cause an accident." Ezio laughed as several panthers got up and shook a closed paw at the guardian, to which she smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, I just had too. It's like having your arms forcibly pinned to your side for two full days." She said. Ezio heard the engines roar outside, and felt the craft rise in altitude, and the air grow thick and moist. Nova lifted her nose and sniffed, "We must be passing through a cloud layer. That'll help conceal us from anything below. And the cloud will mask our heat and radar signature. We should be safe until we get to New Hvadia."

"Does anyone know what this city is like?" Blaze asked, walking up and lying down close by. Many of the nearby inhabitants of the aircraft gave a cautious glance in the dragon's direction, but didn't do much else.

"Not one. Ignitus told me that most times, inhabitants of certain cities don't normally travel to the other settlements. And only Ignitus knows the exact location. Knowing dragons, it's likely to be very well hidden." Spyro said, moving to lie down next to Cynder. Cynder only wrinkled her nose, got up, and moved to another location, turning her back towards everyone. Nova cocked her head and walked up to her lieutenant and lay down facing her, and began talking to her so quietly, that her mouth barely moved. Spyro just looked hurt, but continued.

"I trust Ignitus's judgment. We have nothing to worry about. The only thing I really am worried about is how they're going to take care of a city that will double their population. We might not have enough supplies." Spyro said, eyeing Cynder. The black dragoness didn't move, not even to talk. Ezio had a sneaking suspicion that she was using her wind element to converse with Nova. A grey dragoness that stopped and paused for a second and peered towards Cynder confirmed his hypothesis.

"She's always so reclusive anymore." Spyro said, peering at her, "I don't get it. She never speaks to me unless the situation demands it. And if she ever looks at me, it's always with this scowl on her face, like I'm some foul demon."

"Maybe you are a foul demon." Blaze pointed out. Thunder snorted, but Eclipse gave them both a hard look, silencing them.

"Spyro, what is Cynder's goal in life?" Eclipse asked, fixing him with a hard stare.

"To rid the world of Malefor." Spyro said without even thinking.

"Do you know that for sure?" Eclipse asked.

"Of course."

"Do you KNOW it for sure, deep down in your heart, what do you think she really wants?" Eclipse asked.

Spyro stared at her, comprehension dawning on his face. Ezio almost laughed, since he could see the dots being connected. All of a sudden, the purple dragons face went passive, and he got up and jumped into the air, gliding away over the heads of the residents.

"THAT will keep him thinking Eclipse. Good work." Blaze said, "Normally, I would think Nova would be the one to say something like that."

"Nova is taking care of one dragon right now; she doesn't need two on her claws." Eclipse replied. Ezio looked up at the shadow dragoness, whom was curled up against Thunders stomach scales. The two seemed unusually close recently.

"How do you know Cynder really wants Spyro?" Thunder asked, looking down at his beloved.

"I don't, but you don't think Spyro thinking that she doesn't is going to help our case, do you?" Eclipse said, smiling. Thunders eyes grew wide at the response, and he cuddled closer to the dragoness.

"Let's hope it doesn't backfire. It'll be about three days until we get to new Hvadia. We need to rest, and repair. It's getting late, let's get some sleep." Ezio said. Nova saw them bunking down for the night, said a few quick words to Cynder, whom jumped up, and soared in the opposite direction of Spyro, and then laid down next to Ezio, covering the human with her wing. Ezio could hear the quiet thrumming of the engines, and the hushed whispers of the various inhabitants around him, and disjointed as they were, felt as if they came from the ether itself, and he began to slowly drift into sleep, his mind launching into wild fantasies.

* * *

Spyro couldn't remember a time when he had felt like this. Ever since he was born, his path had been clear. Even if it was a bit clouded at times, it eventually cleared up and he could proceed, but now he came across something he hadn't encountered before. He had come to a fork in the road, a choice that he would never be able to return from. On one hand, there was Cynder, the dragoness that he loved, even if he didn't show it, and on the other hand, he had his current path, to continue on his way to killing Malefor, and bringing about peace. Now he had no idea which path he should take, which route he should choose. His heart was split equally between them both.

While he was struggling with his inner conundrum, he noticed a piece of off-black sky flying around, and he turned to see Cynder fall out of the sky right next to him, trotting to a stop. She sat down next to him, and Spyro's nerves went up. He never even glanced her way; he didn't want to see the pain in her eyes.

"Spyro, look at me!" Cynder said from his side.

"No."

Cynder didn't exactly like that, and she used her tail blade to turn his head towards her. Even then the purple dragon wouldn't look into her eyes.

"Why? Why must you torment me so?" Cynder said, looking at him, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You know why." Spyro said.

"Then why don't you just give up this pointless crusade!" Cynder cried. The Black Dragoness leaned into his chest, pressing her forehead against Spyro's warm scales, "Why can't you just love me like you should?"

"Cynder, look at me now." The dragoness turned her emerald eyes to Spyro's deep blue, "You know I love you. So why do you press me?"

"Because I don't know if I'll get to enjoy your love! I don't know how much longer we're going to be alive!" The dragoness said, looking down and pressing her forehead into the purple dragon's chest, "I don't want to die saying that my biggest accomplishment was killing things!"

Spyro draped his wings around her and held her close, tears welling up in her eyes. They stood there for a while, Cynder quietly crying and the wind beating at Spyro's back. Finally, Spyro looked up, a fierce determination in his eyes. He unfolded his wings from around Cynder, and walked to the edge of the airships service platform they were on, and unfolded his wings to their full size.

"Spyro? What are you doing?"

"Finishing the fight. I'm gonna end this here and now." The purple dragon took to the air, diving off the platform.

"Spyro! Wait! You can't do this!" Cynder shouted, diving off the platform as well. The dragoness tried to keep up with the male, but Spyro had some new found strength, and he quickly pulled away, losing the black female in the mist of the clouds. Cynder just sat there and sobbed, letting her glistening tears fall back to the planet.

* * *

"Hmmm? Goddamnit, what is it now Cynder? What's so important that you have to wake me up?" Nova asked blearily.

"Spyro's gone." The dragoness said into the darkness surrounding them.

"Mmmm? Why would he be gone?" Nova was starting to wake up now.

"He went to fight Malefor. I need your help in catching up to him." Cynder said anxiety heavy in her voice.

"HE WHAT?" Nova jumped up and hit her head on the ceiling of the floor above her. Cursing loudly, Blaze jumped up, with Frost right beside him. Half the floor was awake from Nova's exclamations by now.

"Oye! Don't step on me you lug! Did you forget I was here?" Ezio said, scrambling to his feet as Nova began jumping about, waking up the rest of the squad.

"Squad on me! Quickly now! We need to catch up to him before he does any harm!" Cynder shouted above the din that was now waking up the entire ship,

"Huh? Wuaazt?"

"Get up Thunder!" Nova shouted throwing a pillow at the electric guardian. It missed and hit Eclipse upside the head, whom jumped up and started firing instantly. Frost tackled her before she could hit anything of value, but Thunder jumped in to help his beloved who was still firing out of instinct. The three kept on scrapping about until Cynder roared, loud and powerful, making the deck go silent, and causing everyone to stare at her.

"ENOUGH! THUNDER, GET OFF OF FROST! FROST GET OFF OF ECLIPSE!"

"Bow chika bow wow." Blaze muttered under his breath, but Cynder qwhirled on him and cuffed him upside the head, knocking the fire guardian over.

"You ALL know better than this, now start behaving like guardians, and not like hatchlings. Spyro has gone off to fight Malefor alone. Ancestors know what he was thinking, but he's going to need some help. Not only that, but more than likely Malefor is going to be led straight back to us. We need to move now and intercept him, plus save Spyro." Cynder said, running towards the platform.

"And just where do you suggest we start searching for him Cynder? He could be anywhere by now!" Nova said, chasing after her. Cynder slid to a stop, starring wide eyed into the distance, thinking hard.

"Your right. I don't know where to start, but we still have to search for him. We're lost without him." Cynder said.

"OK, then, how do you suggest we start?" Nova said.

"We need your speed. With it we can search a wide area. Tell Ignitus to hold over this position right here, as long as he can. We'll use the airship as a base of operations. I will stay here, as a fleet coordinator. IF anyone sees anything, report it to me." Cynder said, heading towards the bridge.

"He's your dragon Cynder, you know him best." Eclipse said, looking worried.

"I know, and I hate just sitting here waiting, but we really don't have a choice. I'll check in with each of you every ten minutes. Start in a spread fan formation, and work your way out." Cynder said, and then she disappeared onto the bridge.

"What the shit was he thinking?"

* * *

"Wing 8, squad a, you are go for superluminous departure." The radio screeched at Nova. Cynder had specifically said that she should lead the squad in this endeavor, even against Nova's wishes. Nova felt like she couldn't lead an entire squadron, but felt it was her duty to Spyro.

"Roger that home one. Cynder, you owe us about twenty hours' worth of sleep." Nova said over the radio, smiling, and trying to force some humor into the situation.

"Yeah, ok, I'll just subtract that from your tab." Nova rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, two. Eight out. Squad, link elements to mine, and then punch it, you control your own speed, just keep up with the rest of us." Nova felt her power very slowly drain from her body, as her and the other five dragons used her element to push themselves into a phased light state, moving at speeds that were almost too fast for them to handle. Theoretically, they could reach lightspeed, but at that rate, the dragons would be at the moon in four seconds. The current four thousand miles per hour was easier to handle. Despite their altitude of five thousand feet, the ground beneath them still blurred. Nova regretted that they had to move so fast, as Ezio couldn't possibly ride on her back and keep her company. He wouldn't be able to withstand the multiple sonic booms.

"Squad, begin outward spiral, on my mark." Nova said over the coms.

"We acknowledge lead." Blaze chirped up.

"Mark. Point zero one two radii per second, make sure your leveling out at that rate. Otherwise we will be covering old ground." Nova banked to an exact ninety degrees, measuring her pace of roll out slowly, so that the spiral would be nice and smooth. The search pattern had originally been a three hundred and sixty degree fan out, but they figured that Spyro was too far out for that to be effective. Instead, Ezio had suggested they use a spiral search pattern. The dragons would cover each other's tracks over and over, but it would be thorough and nothing would get past them.

Several hours past, in which time the entire squadron fell into a lull of silence. Even blaze shut up for a bit. The entire squadron was exceedingly tired, and so some of them could even be considered going into a "Sleep flight" at some point in time. Nova kept on shaking herself, trying to stay awake. Finally, Blaze broke the silence.

"Lead, I think we would have seen something by now. We've covered over twelve thousand square miles." Blaze said, slurring his words slightly.

"I think we might have passed over him already. It's only one seven foot dragon. He should be difficult to find. Especially with all the forestry around here. Let's double back." Nova said.

"Oh come on Nova, half of us are about to fall out of the sky! I hate to complain, I really do, but we've been up for twenty-four hours straight. I need some sleep." Thunder said over the radio.

"Five stop bitching. We'll ke – "

"Lead, with all due respect, I think five is right. You're the best pilot here, which means you can fly easier. I have fallen asleep a couple of times, and only awaken because of the wind slapping me in the face as I fell. We're probably off course a big deal now. And anyways, I think I have something. A large, perfectly round clearing." Frost called.

"All right three, were en route. Five, sorry I snapped at you. I'm tired too." Nova apologized.

"Understandable lead. Turning towards anomaly." Nova banked to her left, looping around and angling towards Frost whom was hovering. She really did look tired.

"Over there. Past that low hill. I don't see anything in the clearing though, but it's the best chance we've got. If I were going to fight the most powerful dragon in the cosmos, I would do so either in the sky, or in a large clearing like that. There's a problem though." Frost said, pointing towards an off color patch on the ground.

"It's to perfectly round to be natural. It looks like – "

"A blast area. That's got to be it." Eclipse said, flying up. The three females took off, and the males followed soon after, accelerating to catch up.

"Squad, watch yourselves. We don't know if anything is still out here." Nova said, diving towards the spot, "Two, we think we might be on a trail, at the very least."

"Good, keep me informed."

"Perimeter, squadron! Guard those flanks!" Nova shouted as the group landed. The three males formed a small outer triangle, jumping into action, and crouching in case anything should jump out. The three females formed a smaller triangle inside the male's larger one.

"Wings scan area. Look long and hard. Priority could have easily been tossed out of the area. And don't miss a thing." Nova and the rest of the guardians began slowly moving outwards, scrounging the ground for clues or anything that might hint to their missing leader. Frost suddenly cried out.

"Lead! I have him! I –" She pulled out the severed whole of a purple wing, still bleeding freely.

"Son of a bitch!" Blaze shouted as he turned and lay eyes on the fragment. The wing was bloody and tattered, with holes all along its surface. Thunder turned and vomited into the soft soil.

"Is this the only piece were going to get of him?" Frost asked, walking up to Nova, wing folded in her claws tightly.

"If Malefor could, he would kill Spyro. This isn't good. If we lose him then it's all over for – "

"Lead! Lead! I've got him this time!" Quake was heaving on Spyro's body, hauling the beaten purple dragon out of the soft earth. Or ash, Nova realized as the rest ran up to help the earth guardian.

"Three get him on your back. We need to get him back to the ship NOW. Squad, take up positions around him. Make sure nothing happens." Nova said. Frost wedged herself under Spyro's limp form, and took off as fast as her wings could carry her. Nova jumped up, and quickly formed on her wing, with Eclipse on the other side, and the three males formed a broad, lose triangle in front of them, leading the way.

"Two? This is squad lead. We have him." Nova said over the radio.

"Oh thank the ancestors. What is his condition?" Cynder said, relief seeping through her voice.

"Two, you're not going to like what I tell you." Frost said over her headset, "I'm not sure if he's going to pull through. Actually, I'm not sure whether he's even ali – "

A beam of shadow energy cut her off, as eclipse beside her was struck. The shadow guardian fell out of the sky with an anguished scream, and Thunder dove down after her, catching up quickly. He caught the dragoness, and she was quickly back up in the air, after recovering. Nova rolled in midair, and found three large dragons bearing down on them. Malefor led the pack.

"Shit! It's him!" Nova said, rolling again, and forcing Frost to dive downwards, to gain speed. Blaze and Quake looped around, but were quickly subdued by either of the shadow dragons on his wing. Frost continued to dive, but Nova flared her wings, rocketing her to a stop in midair, and the Dark Master shot past her, swiping at her half-heartedly. He didn't focus on her though, and continued after Frost, shooting several bolts of dark energy. Frost dove and weaved, hoping the dragon would miss with each shot. Nova pinned her wings to her body again, and shot downwards like a rocket, accelerating with her element. She didn't shoot anything, nor did she swerve to miss the dragon. Instead, she rammed him full force, sending the dragon falling into the tree cover below them.

"Two, we have trouble!" Nova said.

"I'm sorry, Nova, repeat what you just said? We're getting a lot of static." Cynder said. Frost came into view that moment, with a familiar purple dragon on her back.

"I SAID, 'He's here.'" The fog suddenly cleared, and Cynder gasped at the sight before her. Hundreds of Wyverns were headed their way, range orcs mounted on their backs. There was no sight of Nova until a beam of light suddenly burst from the tree cover, shooting up and rocketing past one of Malefor's shadow wingmen. Off in the east, the sun was slowly beginning to rise, and Nova looked resplendent in colors as she flared her wings and roared. Thunder and Eclipse were the first to reach the craft. Eclipse landed just fine, but when Thunder touched down, his front leg buckled, and the resulting shock to his chin knocked him out. Eclipse began dragging him towards the hold when Frost landed.

"Two, package is secure. Do we have a trauma kit on board?" Frost asked over the radio.

"Yes, just forward of the bow gas cell." Cynder said over the radio still, "All units, we still have pursuits. On board support will assist you. Helm, come about by thirty-two degrees, and push the throttle to the max. We need to get Spyro to New Hvadia now."

"He's high critical condition two. I'm not sure if I can pull him out." Frost said from above the bridge.

"Malefor! Four! Five! Break!" Cynder looked out the window and just saw the dark master as he slipped out of view as the airship turned.

"Take the helm!" Cynder shouted as she turned and ran out of the bridge. Several groups of dragons were jumping off the boarding ramp to help repel the invaders. Moles were setting up on the ramp, large twenty millimeter Gatling guns in their paws.

"Weapons free! All units attack! They won't win this one!" The wyverns were baring down on the massive airship, as it was still slowly turning.

"Airship, you may engage at will, check your aim." Several weapons, including the ones at the ramp lit up, tracers lighting up the dawn sky.

"Cynder, we have about two hundred miles to New Hvadia, at which time you will have backup. Enemy numbers indicate that you are outnumbered three to one. Twenty minutes to arrival, try and keep up. I'm making contact with my friends in the settlement now, standby. You can do this. Go." Ignitus said over the speakers.

Cynder did a half roll, and dived down in a sloppy split-S on top of the Dark Master. Nova cleared just in time, as Cynder hit Malefor with a blast of convexity. Up above, Blaze and Quake, and now eclipse were taking on the two shadow dragons. Nova quickly joined eclipse, and the two enemies were soon subdued, one being taken by surprise from behind by Eclipse, and Quake overwhelming the other with a barrage of boulders from beneath. Beam and Photon suddenly appeared on Nova's wing. Beam smiled at the female, and Photon saluted her.

"At your assistance ma'am!" Photon shouted over the din beneath them.

"On me you two! I'll mark our targets as we go!" the trio dived down towards the earth, cloaking themselves as they went. Shortly after cloaking for their first time, several vapor streams could be seen slicing through a wyvern and its rider. The two fell out of the sky in pieces. Another wyvern a short ways away suddenly looked over at its right wing with a confused grunt, as a small red dot appeared quivering on the spot. Shortly after, the vapor streams appeared again as the solar dragon's talons sliced through the flying enemy and the ranged orc on its shoulders.

A short ways away, Cynder was fighting tooth and nail, with flashing teeth and bloody talons against the Dark Master, whom had a small gash on his throat. The dragon was not making any sounds, so Cynder guessed that she must have hit his voice box, which gave her a profound sense of perverted enjoyment. The massive dragon was slowly starting to gain war wounds and damage, and soon he would not be able to stand before them. Not only that, but because of the lack of an enemy surprise attack, they had lost very little friendlies, and were cutting through the large mass quickly. Cynder shot forward at the purple dragon again, shrouding herself in shadow and separating into several clouds of the thick dark substance, surrounding the Dark Master with several masses of element, as she had done the last three times. Cynder dived out of the mass behind the purple dragon and dove with a silent snarl at her foe. Malefor whirled on her oncoming attack just as she reached him, and she was able to cut a large chunk out of the dragons shoulder. Cynder again repeated the attack.

When she split off into seven different clouds, Malefor struck, taking a spike of Ice and shooting it through each of the clouds at once. The one aimed at Cynder hit, causing the shadow dragon to scream. Malefor whirled in her direction and dove with a gurgling roar coming from his throat. Cynder decloaked and pushed her speed to the max, diving downwards, Malefor hot on her tail. The ice spike was lodged deep in her shoulder, and even though it caused the dragoness an extreme amount of pain, she pushed through, and kept moving.

* * *

"KEEP FIRING!" Ezio yelled over the pounding of the Gatling guns. The weaponry had been firing for nearly a full three minutes, and smoke was starting to come from the barrels.

"Team one! Cease fire! Team two! Open fire, give em hell!" A second set of a trio of guns began firing again. Ezio had been using an assault rifle to ward off anything that got too close to the landing ramp, but had recently run out of bullets, and was now nail to claw with a massive wyvern. Ezio lunged at the creature, sword outstretched. The creature simply took the blow. Ezio had found out quickly that they had very thick armor to make up for their lack of intelligence. Ezio had also discovered that one solid shove of his sword would be enough to open a small wound, through which he could shove a grenade. The results were often messy, and he was currently splattered with gore as he brought down another enemy.

Suddenly, Nova dove out of the sky, and landed heavily on the platform, one of her rear legs buckling beneath the shock.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Ezio shouted over the sound of the cannons.

"I'M FINE! HOW LONG UNTIL REINFORCEMENTS?" Nova screamed.

"ANOTHER FIVE MINUTES!" Nova turned and waved her tail, beckoning to the human.

"HOP ON! WERE GOING TO MAKE OUR ASSAULT ON MALEFOR!" Nova shouted, and Ezio leapt up, jumping over the dragoness's hips and landing on her back, and she dove over the side, strafing to avoid another wyvern. Ezio could see the dark dragon battling the rest of alpha squadron. Every so often, a bit of molten earth would fly at Malefor as Blaze and Quake combined their powers. It worked well, as the magma and slag would stick to the dragon's hide. Thunder and Eclipse were also combining their powers to create shadow lightning, which had its advantages as it could be controlled easily. However, it was difficult to even get a shot to hit, as Malefor had a convexity shield up protecting him. Cynder kept on using her convexity blast to punch a hole, and then part of the squad would follow her through.

"Wait for it." Nova whispered to herself, hovering. Cynder presently approached Malefor's right flank, and sent out a large conical blast of convexity, with Blaze and Quake shortly behind her. Right after their two attacks, Nova edged over and dived, and for the first time, Ezio felt her go superluminous. The world around him blurred as the light struggled to keep up with them. Ezio heard several pops as they broke the sound barrier many times over. There was a bright flash as they broke the light barrier, and in an infinitesimally small time later, they were on the other side, and Malefor was openly bleeding from his right shoulder.

"Holy shit, that's fast." Ezio said, breathing hard. The huge amount of G's he had felt, but so short was the time they had affected them that they had no lasting effects. Malefor turned and roared in the direction of Nova, and then edged over and dived into the trees, the rest of them following.

"Alpha squad, land! We'll take him from the ground! Synchronize the attacks! Make it from different angles, so he can't block any of them!" Cynder shouted. It suddenly went quiet as the local birds took flight.

"Why can't we ever get a moment of peace?" Nova hissed under her breath. Her gold and red armor was slightly stained with crimson blood, but besides that, she didn't have a mark on her.

"Lead this is too easy. I feel like we're walking into a trap." Blaze said, crawling through the jungle.

"Me too. Keep your guard up wings." Cynder whispered.

"No vis lead." Eclipse whispered from their right.

"Eight, what about thermals?" Nova simply raised her wing and pointed, and then lifted her paw and shot a small visible laser beam from it, marking the path.

"Go! Go!" Cynder hissed with urgency. The dragons split, keeping their distance.

"Hurgle!" Came a low sound from Malefor. The dark dragon closed his mouth, cleared his throat deep and long, and then spoke up again. Nova was shaking with laughter at the Dark Masters frustration.

"I know you bastards are out there!" Malefor shouted again. He grabbed his throat and gaged on the fluid building up in his esophagus.

"Alpha squad attack!" Cynder yelled from her cover, and several blurs of color shot from the trees. Nova slid her own feet out from underneath her and slid towards the dragon's underside. Ezio lifted his rifle and strafed the dark dragon, peppering the massive belly with holes. Red rain pelted them as they emerged from the other side, and Ezio saw Blaze going overhead. Malefor swiped many ways to try and catch any of the guardians, but all evaded them. Quake burst from under the Dark Masters paw, pinning the dragon in place as Thunder came from behind, passing Nova. His electrical attack ran the length of Malefor's body, making the dragon screech in pain, and his muscles convulse on impulse. Eclipse jumped up from the left flank and wrapped a length of shadow around the dragons eyes, obscuring it's vision, and Cynder jumped up and shot a burst of convexity from her maw into the massive dragon's back, shoving him to the ground. None of them however were prepared for the Ice Spike that embedded itself in Malefor's tail, nor the second burst of convexity that struck the spike, hitting Malefor from the inside and out simultaneously. The Dark Master roared in pain and agony.

"It's over, Malefor! Your forces have crumbled and you have been brought down! Surrender or die!" Spyro floated down from the sky, a mechanical replacement for his broken wing.

"Did you enjoy the thrashing I gave you?" Malefor grinned.

"You attacked me with five other dragons, and from behind. I was down in two seconds, and despite that, I took two of your dark dragons with me, and you still didn't kill me." Spyro said, "It does not matter, in an out and out fight, we would easily defeat you."

"Spyro, careful."

"Is that so, fool?" Malefor said. He roared once, a blue aura surrounding him. His form thrashed and wrenched, and when the color dropped, he was completely healed, and freed.

"You have much to learn." Malefor smiled down at Spyro's dismayed face. But he didn't stop there. Several pure white disks also appeared.

"Shit, he's using dragon time! All wings take cover!" There were eight disks in all, slowly expanding to Malefor's height, and what stepped out made Ezio's blood run cold. Eight faces leered down at him, eight menacing purple dragons.

"Holy shit, he can clone himself?" Nova said, looking over her shoulder as she ran, "Damn him. Damn that purple bastard to hell."

"Shadow forces! Attack!" Ezio looked up, and saw a massive storm cloud move his way.

"By sol! That's not a thundercloud, Ezio! That's the entire shadow army. We need to retreat now." Ezio heard screeching and looked up, and his mouth went agape in awe. Above him was ignitus leading a massive force of dragons. But not normal dragons. The creatures had long lithe bodies that weaved through the air, and no wings, plus huge claws. There must have easily been two hundred of the massive creatures.

"It's New Hvadia!" Blaze shouted from the underbrush. The dragon's elements lit up the skies with their power. The Hvadians didn't seem to be skilled in out and out hand to hand combat, but rather passive elemental attacks. Nova suddenly slid to a stop and roared, sending her element through the trees. The attack stopped only a few feet away as it hit a shield. The dragon decloaked then, and Malefor leered down at the two.

"Do you like my new element, Nova? I got the idea from you. How does it feel to have it used against you?" Before the dragoness could react, Malefor formed a light beam, and shoved the dragoness against a tree, and then shoved the shard through the Solar Guardians gut. Nova screamed in pain, and she grabbed the shard and used her powers to dematerialize it. The wound wasn't deep, nor wide, but it bleed quickly, and sapped Nova's energy. It wasn't that she worried about though. Malefor spotted Ezio astride Nova. The shard had missed him by a small degree.

"Ah, the human whom is trying so hard to change the realms. Do you like my powers?" Malefor, again grabbed Nova, and lifted her up, and Ezio slid off the dragoness's back. Ezio raised his rifle and unleashed a full clip against the dragon's shields, but it had no effect, accept to make Malefor laugh. The Dark Master held a claw up against Nova's throat, point forwards.

"How easily you mortals burn and die! Just a simple flick of my thumb, a simple flex, and I snuff you from existence." Malefor pushed the claw slowly forwards, and the tipp penetrated Nova's soft flesh, making blood splatter against the dark dragon's hand.

"Why? Why do you cause me pain? Why do you hate us so?" Malefor only laughed.

"Because of the pain you caused me." Malefor said, looking back up at the solar dragoness. Suddenly, his limbs went limp, and he seemed to be struggling. Slowly, he dropped Nova, and turned around.

"How'd that feel, big and ugly?" It was bane, holding his arm up, and projecting his element with his sword in one hand. Malefor crouched low.

"It didn't cause me pain in the slightest. Now maybe you would like to know real power." Malefor simply raised a single claw, and Bane started levitating. The dragon-turned-human forced his hand downwards, and tried to pull himself back to earth, but Malefor only lift his entire arm, and flexed his back, and Bane, with a cry of alarm, went shooting into the sky.

"It's also amazing how easy it is to cause pain, my dear human. Pain is my greatest weapon, greater than any element. With it, I can break wills, and stop battles before any shot is fired. With it, I can subdue my enemies." Malefor smiled and turned towards Nova, "Or simply cause more pain. The more the better. Hopefully, at some point, young dragoness, you might come to realize that you feel the pain I do."

"What are you getting at?" Ezio shouted. Before he could react, in the blink of an eye, Ezio felt a sharp jerk in his gut, and heard Nova scream.

"EZIO! NO!" The young American looked down and saw Malefor's double spade in the center of his chest, and he also noticed his vision begin to blur. Before he knew it, he was lifted off his feet, and came face to face with the Dark Master.

"Pain, can be the strongest weapon of all." And several purple blurs went zooming back to his body. His form glowed quickly, and then a white disk formed behind him, and with Ezio still skewered on his tail, he whirled around, and disappeared back into the wormhole. Nova tried to get up and pursue him, but her injuries were too severe. Her eyelids drooped, and she was soon resting on the forest floor, her blood pooling in large puddles. She felt a clawed hand on her shoulder, and looked up at Cynder's face, tears in her eyes.

"You don't want to know what happened." She said, barely being able to control herself.

"Neither do you, Cynder."


	18. Chapter 18

"Well now what, Cynder?" Spyro asked, looking over the medical hall of New Hvadia, the smooth rock under their claws clacking quietly as they moved through the tunnels. The two were surveying the damage after the battle.

"Spyro, what're we going to do now? Ignitus is dead, and now there is no one to lead our forces. And what about you? You haven't shown a single bit of remorse sense he left us." Cynder whispered. The wild rumors floating about had been true, as Cynder confirmed it. Ignitus himself had fallen in battle, taken down by a cheap shot from Smaug from behind.

"Cynder, death is simply a part of life. I'm going to die, so are you, so is everyone else. Even Malefor will die at some point. And besides, you have no idea how hard it is for me. But it's already happened to us once before, so I know how it feels this time. Besides, I know he's never truly gone." Spyro whispered back, passing the place were a pale earth dragon lay, his entire tail torn off. Spyro's own appendage had been replaced by a mechanical wing, which functioned just as well as the original, and his real wing was being healed and repaired. Frost was currently working on the downed Earth dragon. It had been nearly three days sense the battle over the Middle East, and they now lived on the Island nation of Japan, in the Far East. New Hvadia was located about four hundred miles north of Tokyo. The local villages were actually aware of the dragons in their valley, much to everyone's surprise, but Alpha squadron quickly realized that the population revered the lungs almost as gods.

"The lungs seem to be elemental masters. We need to see if there are purple dragons from their race." Spyro mentioned. The lungs were indeed rarities. Sleek, tiny and fast for dragons, they were horrible at hand to hand combat, but excellent elemental warriors. There was even a fury dragon amongst their forces.

"By my estimates, we are at fifty percentile of our original strength. And I mean after we got the airship." Cynder whispered, "And I'm worried about Nova. She's not crying anymore, that's a plus, but she won't talk either. She does her duties, but she doesn't do much else. She'll eat and drink, but only a bare minimum and I get the feeling that she can't sleep. Not that she won't, she can't. The biggest thing I hate is that she shows no emotion PERIOD. She's even more emotionless than Thunder."

"I'm more worried about the forces at our front doorstep." Spyro replied, exiting the large hall and heading towards a disk of dark light at the end of the smooth stone tunnel they were in. As they exited, they turned abruptly and jumped straight up to the roof of the tunnel entrance, where two dark haired panthers were keeping guard. The entrance two stories below were full of thick small trees, covering the approach to New Hvadia, and the whole underground city. The two panther sentries only nodded.

"Have they made any movements?" Spyro asked quietly.

"No sir. Their numbers have only grown larger. I cannot keep track of the amount of campfires." Replied the feline. Spread out before them, in the distance, at the only entrance and exit to the valley were innumerable campfires spread before them. In the distance was a large portal that the forces used to ferry supplies and other equipment, as well as more and more personnel every hour.

"This is bad. There must be over one hundred thousand of them, and we have no idea how many they have at home. I don't think we can win this one." Spyro said, Cynder sitting down next to him, "We need to come up with a new plan of action."

"What could we possibly do? We couldn't evacuate, even if we wanted to!" Cynder said, "I mean, what exactly do you suggest? And I mean, we have three squad members out of commission for who knows how long. Thunder nearly died Spyro!"

"Thunder DID die, Cynder. We were simply able to revive him. He got lucky. And we can't keep depending on luck. We're not going to make it if this keeps up." Spyro said, "I'm worried we might not make it through this battle."

"Why are you worried?"

"Because there are some things in life that I haven't got to enjoy yet." Spyro said quietly. Cynder just nuzzled him under the chin.

"It'll be alright. It always turns out alright." Cynder quietly whispered.

"You don't sound very convinced." Spyro mumbled with a low chuckle as the dragoness ran her head under his chin. No one knew it, but the two had been sneaking out in the middle of the night for long walks in the forest. It was normally pretty safe, as long as they didn't approach the enemy camp. Cynder had been unusually quiet during these times. Spyro wouldn't have minded if she didn't look as though she had been lost in thought so much.

Spyro had more on his mind though than just the dragoness beside him. Nova had indeed acted in anguish when they had lost Ezio. Spyro didn't know why, but something didn't feel right with the whole situation. Malefor had yet to be spotted in the force in front of him, which indeed was a good sign, but they couldn't do much else. If that force attacked now, they would be completely over run, and they acted as if they were waiting for something. Not only that, but Malefor himself seemed wrong. Spyro wanted to know more about Malefor's past. For a while now, he had fought against the Dark Masters forces, but never had he ever considered why Malefor fought against them, why he tried to destroy the world, and why he hated them so much. Ignitus had never explained it to them. Actually, Spyro realized that Ignitus hadn't told them a lot of things, like how he and Malefor had been brothers. Spyro wondered just how much more there was about Ignitus that he didn't know.

Spyro had other worries as well. When Eclipse had awoken from her coma, they had all been pleased, but she had called Spyro, and talked to him in secret.

"Both I and Thunder have talked about this, so I speak for him. We would like to resign from the Squadron and the guardian position." Eclipse had whispered to him, so that no one else could hear. She was still bed bound, but had found the strength to sit up and look at him in the face.

At first, Spyro had been stunned, "What? Why?"

"Spyro, I want to be able to enjoy my love with Thunder. Can you at least respect that?" Eclipse had said.

"But why? I could revoke the rule, and you could stay on the squad and as guardians." Spyro said quietly.

"There are other reasons I want to leave." She said quietly, not completely meeting his eyes.

"Like what?" Eclipse went red in the face, but instead of answering the question, she leaned to her right, put her hand underneath her body, and when it came back out, she was clutching a very small, very unusual egg. The egg itself had a base color of black with many spider web yellow stripes flowing up and down its length. The egg was about the size of a softball. Spyro suddenly realized that his mouth was hanging open, and he quickly shut it. Eclipse was red in the face.

"I laid it just the other day. It's not even twenty-four hours old yet. Spyro, I don't want to have my child be an orphan, can you understand that?" Eclipse asked, looking at him desperately. Spyro opened and closed his mouth several times, not knowing what to say.

"I – Well Eclipse, what do you expect me to say?" Spyro finally burst out, "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"I'm sorry, Spyro, I really am." Eclipse said looking nervous.

"I – Ah, forget it. These things happen. Eclipse, both you and Thunder are relieved of duty until I can make a decision on this without the shadow forces breathing down our necks." Spyro said.

"Thank you, Spyro." Eclipse said, with a great sigh of relief.

"Do you have any idea what you want to name it?" Spyro asked, smiling.

"Shadow if it's male and Thundra if it's female." Eclipse said, grinning rather sheepishly.

"I wish you two the best of luck, though I wish it would have been under better circumstances." Spyro said, Eclipse smiled, thanked him, and Spyro had walked away with loads more on his mind.

There were other things that didn't sit right with him. Such as, "Why did Malefor focus on just Ezio?" and "Why did he retreat?" none of Alpha squad had been able to stand against Malefor and his self-made clones. Spyro realized now that he must have used his Time control to travel back and create multiple copies in one time frame, which was dangerous at best. Doing so could create paradoxes that might do anything, including end the universe. It hadn't, but still it was one of the fundamentals. Spyro had no doubt now that his human friend, Ezio, was dead. Frost had been amazed at Nova's account of the incident.

"Frankly, Spyro, I'm amazed he just wasn't ripped in half from the start. It's like me trying to force my entire body through the middle of yours. Having that much internal organ hemorrhage at once would kill a lesser man out and out by the sheer impact." Frost had told Spyro when Nova wasn't around.

"I don't know how we can fight him. We haven't even killed Smaug, and each time we meet we lose more and more personnel. Before long, it'll be just Alpha Squad." Spyro said. Overall, the situation was getting worse and worse by the day. Spyro and Quake themselves had begun a simply massive project that Spyro didn't think they could finish in time. Them, all the earth based lung, and the remainder of the earth based new Warfang residents had begun digging a massive tunnel, with the help of everyone they could grab. They were attempting to dig under the mountains flanking them on the east, so that they could get everyone out and get them to New Ascari. Early on, the Hvadians had revealed the fact that they were far advanced in technology, and had also shown that they had taken to the idea of massive airship transports quickly. When the Warfang residents had arrived, they found that the Hvadians had three more airships in the hanger, the exact same classes as the ones the Warfang residents were using. It seemed that they had prepared for war their entire lives, as the arsenal they had of weaponry was simply massive. They even had many examples of the XM8 battle rifle. Spyro had quickly given the remaining moles and manweresmalls the task of creating as much ammo and XM8 and variants as quickly as possible. The XM8 was quite possibly the most perfect battle rifle ever. Small compact and light, every variant except the rocket launcher used the same round, even the shotgun, which had the round bound in a thin sheet of metal in packs of ten. The standard rifle had interchangeable pieces that could be switched out in seconds. Their airship had also been brought up to par, building a runway for the dragons to land on, and an arrestor for aircraft to be launched from, plus many fixed gun emplacements, to ward off anyone trying to take the ships. They had also found that the humans took to the aircraft with skill. Currently the tunnel they were building was big enough to move the airships through the passage.

Spyro breathed the deep night air in and then turned to Cynder, "We need to get back to the construction efforts. They need all the help they can get."

"Do you really think we're going to make it?" Cynder asked, leaning into Spyro chest.

"Honestly, I don't know." Spyro said, turning back to the entrance.

* * *

"Come on, golem! Put your back into it! Heave!" Quake shouted over the grunts and roars of the dragons around him that were chipping large chunks out of the stone wall in front of them. Far below, hundreds of workers hack and chewed their way through the sheer face with heavy machinery, with massive steel barricades protecting them from falling debris. And thus, they moved forwards. Quake was amazed at the headway they were making. About a mile per hour if he wasn't mistaken. The tunnel was anything but smooth, except the ground level, which had to be for the massive airships. A massive deep green dragon struck the wall, and a massive slab fell on top of him, the dragon struggling to remain airborne under the sudden weight. He turned slowly, pushed the slab vertical, then threw it upwards, and when it came back down to his level, gave it a kick that split the stone in two, and pushed it out, away from the wall into a hug funnel, which led to a grinder running on treds, slowly moving with their progress. Tiny pebbles were falling onto a conveyer belt beneath the grinder. A conveyer belt also led from the ground floor up to the funnel, which had a steady stream of boulders on it. Spyro suddenly appeared on Quakes right, and started pounding at the wall, his fists shielded in earth energy, and large chunks began to fall rapidly, only to be suddenly carried backwards by the constant stream of energy pushing the boulders backwards towards the funnel.

"Did I miss much?" Spyro asked, grunting with his swings.

"Na, just another mile. I don't know if we can do this fast enough, Spyro. We're trying to dig our way out of a place that's as hard to walk out of as it is to dig out of." Quake said, taking swings alongside Spyro. The presence itself of the legendary purple dragon seemed to embolden and inspire the other earth dragons, and soon the air was thick with flying boulders.

"If man has but the faith of a mustard seed, he can say to this mountain, 'Jump into the sea' and it will do so. Ezio taught me that one, Quake." Spyro said smiling, "Whoever thought human religions would be our savior, eh?"

"Aye, savior and redeemer."

* * *

"Well, well, well now. We suddenly find ourselves in a peculiar situation, don't we?" Malefor said, peering down at the tiny prisoner, "Normally, I'd question you, and then kill you. But I don't think you'll willingly answer my questions, so I think I have a better idea. I'm going to use you against your friends. Now you also won't do that willingly, but you'll soon find you have little choice. And I think you'll like your new powers so much that you will want to fight for me. Ah well, only one way to find out what will happen."

"All right, fine you bastard; what exactly do you have in mind?" Ezio said, looking up at the massive dark dragon, seated upon his throne.

**END OF ACT I**


End file.
